More Than Just a Third Eye
by anti-viper
Summary: Things were a lot easier when Matthew had a simple crush on Karis. Sadly, sticking a bunch of teenagers on a ship with no supervision  besides pirates  leads to a mess of feelings, urges, and relationships. And Matthew's stuck in the middle of it.
1. He Likes it Windy

_Author Notes: (Man I hate this title) Who likes slash shippings? If you raised your hand, boy, do I have a story for you! No seriously, I don't even want to talk about the shipping craziness that happens in this fic. This chapter only touches upon it, but even then. So, this started out as a Himi/Matthew friendship fic, nearly turned into a Himi/Matthew ship, then turned into… well, at the onset of the story, a Zephyr Ship (drools) which is Sveta/Karis, and Matthew stuck in the awkward position of liking both of the girls. I'll actually shut up, and let the fic speak for itself. More of my ramblings after the break._

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><p>More Than Just a Third Eye<p>

Chapter 1: He Likes it Windy

It was part of being a leader, knowing when someone in your group wanted something. Knowing that whatever said person(s) wanted was something you didn't want was a more refined skill, but Matthew had been doing this party-leader gig for a good number of months (not to mention the knack for leading he had picked up from his old man), and there was a distinct waft of "we've got a problem, and we need you to fix it" in the air.

It was a very Karis-y odor; as much as Matthew loved Karis, she had – as she was naturally one of the more vocal members of the group – become the messenger of complaints, and he was not a fan of complaints. Especially as nearly all of them were directed toward him, as for better or worse he was their leader. As such, he was moving around the ship stealthily, avoiding places he figured she would check is she was looking for him.

There was a slight whiff of Sveta in there as well, most likely because ever since Sveta had officially joined the party, she and Karis had become inseparable. Very inseparable. Holding-hands inseparable. Getting-caught-kissing-on-the-bow-in-front-of-the-rest-of-the-party inseparable. It had been subtle, how close they had grown in such a short time, but Matthew had noticed. They were rarely seen apart: either they were together, or they were both absent, presumably in their room.

Every time Karis so much as glanced in Sveta's direction, her eyebrows would perk up and a warm smile would come to her face (an expression he had long wished she would make when glancing at him).

Sveta's attraction was more subdued, but it was there. At meals, she would steal quick looks at Karis, before turning red and looking down at her food with a smile on her lips, her precious fangs barely visible and her ears raised high with delight.

She sometimes stole looks at him too, and would look away as soon as he noticed; he believed this was her trying to figure out why he was watching her in the first place. It's not like he was a stalker, he just noticed these things. It was part of being a leader: developing strong observational skills. He couldn't very well turn them off when he felt like it, they were a natural instinct.

He had been surprised to discover that Sveta favored girls, but he had figured after multiple failed attempts at winning Karis's affections that she swung the other way, and he was fine with them being together. Or, at least he was trying to convince himself he was.

It was hard, though. Painful even. It had taken him a long time to realize he actually had feelings for the green-haired Jupiter Adept. She had long been his friend, and he had actually preferred spending time with her to Tyrell when he was younger, as he had been very timid, and Tyrell had been even more loud and boisterous than he was now.

Their dads, being the embarrassing parents they were (as if getting referred to by your parents exploits wasn't bad enough), had found no shortage of jokes and quips to make about Karis and him falling in love, getting married, and having lots and lots of grandchildren.

He couldn't count the number of times Isaac had nudged Ivan and fake-whispered, "Man, Ivan, we can't let Karis and Matthew hang out alone too much longer. They're getting near that age where Jenna and I discovered exactly what girls and boys do with each other when they reach puberty. Lucky Vale had so many secluded spots, even though I'm pretty sure the moans and screams traveled fairly well in that wind." Ivan would simply chuckle and shake his head as his Dad would wink with an amused grin at the pair of young teenagers, both of their faces beet red, their hands finding some clever motion to distract themselves from the awkward comments, and their eyes refusing to meet.

That hadn't really held a candle though to when Isaac had given him his first condom for his 16th birthday. Thank Venus it hadn't been in front of all the guests; Matthew would have collapsed. No, his Dad had at least found the decency to wait until Matthew was about to enter his room to sleep before handing him the small package, saying, "This is a condom. I know you've heard about them, and I thought that since you're sixteen, it's about time you carry one around. You never know when you're going to find yourself about to have the time of your life. I'd wait for Karis, if I were you; it's nice to have the first time be special. Your mom certainly appreciated the gesture." He had walked away then, thankfully, as Matthew hadn't known how much more teasing he could have stood.

That night had been full of awkward (but fantastic) dreams, Karis featured in many of them. Somehow, before that night, even with all of the constant teasing, he hadn't considered her as a girl. Boy, did that change. It had dawned on him fairly quickly that he had deep feelings for her, and had for a while. He had assumed them to be friendship, until the dreams where he ended up doing very… er… unfriendly… no, that's not it… things that friends don't do together. Even with their parents teasing them left and right, they flirted fairly heavily. Nothing serious, or so it seemed at the time; he would call her his dashing lady, she would call him her gallant knight.

He had tried to hold these feelings in, but one day he couldn't do so any longer, and he figured that, with all of the urging of their parents (if it was urging, he still didn't understand why parents found the need to make teenage romance more awkward than it already was) and their flirting, she must feel the same way.

That had come crashing down in six words: "I don't feel the same way." He recalled a good deal of, "I'm sorry Matthew"s, and "You're a very special friend"s, and "This is my fault for flirting with you"s, but none of that really mattered. It had been a while since then, and he had tried every now and again, with no luck. He had prayed that it was just a phase, that he would at least get a chance. And then, Sveta joined the party. And it wasn't too long until her and Karis's lips were throwing a grand ole' party in plain view on the deck of the ship.

The reactions of the rest of the party when they had been discovered kissing had been interesting: Kraden had chuckled, no doubt having seen two girls romantically involved before at some point in his century long stay on Weyard; Amiti had adjourned a look of absolute confusion that had not quite faded until the next morning; Eoleo had laughed and whistled; Himi had gone red in the face and suddenly became very interested in her sandals; Tyrell had fallen over in laughter, and had subsequently spent the rest of the day nursing very large bruises dealt by Karis's fist (there was a reason Matthew stayed on her good side. He often wondered if she might be the daughter of Feizhi – a girl that, according to Isaac, Ivan had developed feelings for over their travels – as she was a master of hand to hand combat); Rief had turned away, muttering something along the lines of, "And here I thought my mother was the only one"; and Matthew had simply stared, embarrassed to say he found the spectacle quite… spectacular.

In fact, he might have found them cute as a couple if not for the fact that he had also developed a small crush on Sveta and was thus out of luck completely. At least he knew how he felt about Karis and her about him: he was still unsure about his feelings for Sveta, let alone how she viewed him.

She was definitely pretty, and while at first he had (expectedly) been turned off by her more animalistic features, he now found them adorable. When she smiled, her pointed teeth would just barely jut into view, and it was impossible for him to look at her when she did and not smile himself (not to mention when she yawned, which was ever cuter). The same thing was true with her ears: they really got around. When she yawned they would fold down, when she laughed or smiled they would perk up, and when she was thinking they would stretch out horizontally.

Physically, he knew the attraction was there. Mentally and emotionally, he wasn't sure. He certainly thought she was nice, and knew she was caring, smart, and slightly shy, at least until you got to know her. And therein lay the problem: he just hadn't gotten many chances to actually talk with or get to know her. He had tried, to be certain, but it was odd: she always seemed… off around him. Half the time she would look away awkwardly, and often in the middle of a conversation she would suddenly remember something she had to go to do and would rush off, leaving him in the middle of a sentence. It hadn't taken him long to realize she either didn't like him or felt awkward around him. He had vowed he would find out why, but at that point talking to Sveta had become something he had begun to avoid, as that was the point Karis and her had started seeing each other.

Not like he had a problem with that. He was open-minded, he had just been confused at first. No one had told him girls could like other girls, so when it happened he had been naturally a little shocked. Karis hadn't taken it as shock, though, she thought he was bitter, jealous, angry, and a whole bunch of other unpleasant emotions.

This had put a strain on their friendship, which had managed to stay strong even after the awkwardness his feelings had brought to it. Whenever she noticed him, she would send a glare his way and often simply walk out of the room. It broke his heart a little bit more each time she did so, her eyes narrowly glinting with sparks before she whipped her green pony tail the other direction and refuse to give him a second glance.

He had no idea what to do. What to say. It had only gone on for a week, but it felt like a month, and it was beginning to affect him. No matter what happened, Karis had been his rock, not only on this journey, but his entire childhood. Hell, probably most of his life. Without that positive and stable influence, he was starting to lose it a bit. He was thankful that they were at sea, so he didn't need to make any important decisions. His mind was so cluttered he didn't want to think about what he would do in a life or death battle, which they ran into plenty of on land, especially since he was the one who directed everyone. Of course there were monsters in the sea as well, but they had stopped proving a threat after a month of sailing.

He hated to admit it, but he was just acting plain off. So far it was only little things, meaning Tyrell had only really picked up on it, as he, despite his apparently obliviousness, knew Matthew inside and out as well, and could read him like a book. Tyrell, being the loyal friend he was, had offered to talk to Karis for him, but Matthew knew it was a problem he needed to solve.

He just didn't want to. Not solve it, of course he wanted to solve it. He just didn't want to try, because what in Weyard would happen if he COULDN'T. The thought scared him to death. Losing any chance of being with Karis the way he had dreamed was bad enough. Losing her friendship? He couldn't stand it. Even beyond how he felt and Karis and his argument, there were still a lot of awkward loose ends involving Karis and Sveta.

He still didn't know how he felt about them sharing a room, but that was their business. Er, was their business until Himi moved in with them. Matthew came to a halt by the railing of the ship, leaning onto it and staring out into the quiet sea. It took a true leader to know what the problem was before it was brought up, and he was fairly positive that Himi was it.

There was nothing wrong with the native Yamatain; it was just that she was more or less a stranger to all of them. Normally, this would be fine, as of course there had been awkward bonding periods with every new member of the group. But, within a week, they had become generally accepted and a part of everyday activities and conversation. It had been two weeks, and Himi rarely left her room, rarely spoke unless spoken to (Matthew could sympathize), and in general seemed detached.

Karis had certain ideas of how the party should function, and Himi not assimilating well went against those. He considered that perhaps he should just man up and find Himi himself. Avoiding an awkward talk with Karis by just doing what she wanted before she could ask sounded like a solid plan.

Before he could act on these thoughts, he heard a pair of footsteps behind him, and a triumphant, "Ah, there he is! Good nose, Sveta." He silently cursed: he should have remembered that Sveta's Track Psynergy made it quite easy for her to locate him.

Matthew turned to see Karis and Sveta walking toward him. Hand in hand, he dully noted, a slightly amused smirk on his face. Perhaps he could get used to the two of them dating. At his smirk, Sveta blushed and retracted her hand, causing Karis to frown and give Matthew a glare. He responded my flashing a nervous smile and rubbing the back of his head.

"So, Himi. She's not part of the group, and we need to fix it," Matthew started, turning his gaze back out toward the sea, hoping to change the subject before Karis reprimanded him for his smirk.

Thankfully, she complied, and said, "So you've noticed. I'm worried about her; she seems really nice, but she just doesn't speak to anyone at all." Matthew nodded.

"Maybe she's just shy, or nervous? She is a princess you know, which could have something to do with it. She could also be feeling a little awkward with certain… recent developments," Matthew said.

"And what developments would those be, pray tell?" Karis questioned, earning a nervous look from Matthew as well as a small cough and head nod toward her and Sveta. Karis rolled her eyes, and yelled, "For the love of Jupiter, are you all STILL on that? YES, we're in a relationship. It's not that odd, Dad told me all kinds of stories about Mia and Jenna and Sheba and how they used to 'experiment' on their quest. Get over it!" At the conclusion of her rant, Sveta was a deep shade of crimson, her hands covering her face so only a small bit of her eyes were visible.

Matthew sighed. "Karis, I already told you that I'm fine with your relationship. And before you go down THAT road," he put emphasis on the that, silencing the retort Karis had already opened her mouth to give, "I'm not mad because you rejected me and moved on. I've moved on too. I'm just saying that it might be hard for her to live in a room with two girls that are romantically involved, especially if she's never even heard of that occurring before."

Karis pursed her lips for several seconds, no doubt letting her anger simmer slightly, before letting it out in a sigh and replying, "I'm sorry Matthew, that was uncalled for. It's just, it's a new thing for both Sveta and I, and I don't want to be judged. You're right, it could be our relationship that's bugging her, I hadn't thought of that. Either way, it's clear that the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this is if one of use actually talks to her." Karis flashed one of her trademark smiles, and Matthew frowned. He had never been able to say no to one of those smiles.

"Me, huh?" He stated bluntly. Always a man of few words; probably one of the reasons they wouldn't have worked out. She beamed and nodded, before her smile turned into a slight frown at his reaction. "Okay, I'll go talk to her about it. Hopefully it's nothing much and I can clear it up."

"Thank you Matt," Karis said, flashing another smile. "That's very sweet of you. Well, Sveta and I are going to fix up some lunch, so we'll—"

"I thought we were going to go down in the ship's cargo hold and show each other our—" Sveta froze as she realized what she was saying, and buried her tomato red blush deep in her hands. Karis's face also grew red, though not as much.

Matthew chuckled, shaking his head, and muttered, "By Venus you two are adorable. You could use my room if you want, as I'll be in yours. Better than the cargo hold, at the least. Last thing we need is Eoleo's crew interrupting you."

Karis's blush subsided slightly, and after a quick glance at Sveta, whispered, "Thank you." She turned to leave, but spun around and said, "And let us know how it goes; if you need any help, you'll know where to find us. Knock though, of course." She gave him a sly smile, and Sveta's eyes peeked out in shock from behind her hands before disappearing once more.

Karis walked up to Matthew, and before he could even begin to wonder what she was doing, her lips had already pressed themselves swiftly but firmly on his cheek. They were gone quicker than lighting, as was she, walking away from him and pulling one of Sveta's hands down from her face as she walked by. Sveta spared a glance at Matthew, which quickly turned into a look of puzzlement at the look of utter bewilderment plastered across his face, before turning and following Karis, who with a wave of her free hand said, "Thanks again, Matty." With that, they rounded a corner and were gone.

Matthew stood with his mouth open for several seconds, finally slowly moving his hand to his cheek and touching it gently. _Matty?_ Had that actually happened? The small patch of skin her lips had graced still tingled with an electricity he could only imagine she had provided on purpose. His lips fell flat; he didn't know whether or not to scowl or smile. He couldn't tell if she was serious, teasing the hell out of him, or both.

He sighed, and began to walk toward Himi's room. Fate was a cruel mistress. What he wouldn't give to actually have her lips touch his own; but she played for the other team, he had to accept that. The kiss had been an act of mercy, nothing less, nothing more. Maybe a little cruel, but he felt like she had possessed good intentions. Even if he couldn't have her, he would always have that kiss – and perhaps a small tingling feeling whenever he touched his right cheek.

And then, there was Sveta. He sighed, and stopped in the middle of the hallway. His bad luck was amazing: the girl he had a crush on liked girls, and she had fallen for the other girl on the ship he had developed feelings for. He held a small hope that Sveta was just experimenting, and it was nothing serious, but they had been together for nearly a week, and both seemed to be enjoying the relationship (er, well, Sveta appeared to be when no one mentioned it and when she wasn't blushing. He couldn't blame her for being a little embarrassed about the whole situation).

Things would be so much easier if he just liked boys. Matthew snapped his head up at that thought. "Sweet Cybelle, I'm really losing it, aren't I? I like girls, I know that. The issue is all of them on this ship seem to like each other," he whispered, continuing his walk, now fairly close to Himi's room.

"Wait a minute… Himi!" He said, realizing he had completely forgotten there was one girl on the ship he hadn't given any thought to romantically.

Before he could further his thoughts, a voice in front of him said, "Yes?"Matthew stopped walking, and looked in front of him in confusion. There was nothing there. "Umm… Matthew? Are you feeling alright? You're standing slightly… close." It took all the restraint Matthew had to not jump backwards and let loose a string of profanities, as he looked down and realized he was mere inches away from Himi, who was now staring up at him with her head tilted, her pit tails hanging at an amusing angle. Matthew closed his eyes and breathed deeply, before taking a step backwards.

"Hey, Himi. To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of having an off day," Matthew replied, still slightly spooked.

She tilted her head back so it was normal, and responded, "I could tell. You seem to be stressed. Would you like to talk?" Matthew raised an eyebrow. Two birds with one stone, he could deal with that.

"Sure, that would be nice," He said, grinning.

"Wonderful, let's go into my room, as it is right here." With that, the younger Venus Adept opened her door and, after waving and waiting for Matthew to enter first, walked in and closed it.

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><p><em>Aha! Well, this still confuses me, and I have no real way to describe it. Um… I guess I'm pretty much worried about a lot of things with this fic, the biggest being the characterization and the second biggest being the pacing. In particular, I don't want to make Karis seem bitchy (especially since I love Karis), I don't want Matthew to seem whiny (even though he's kind of supposed to be), Sveta is a little underdeveloped, but will be more developed in future chapters.<em>  
><em>This fic is supposed to be a good amount humor and a good amount stupid teen romance. I don't think this is too unlikely: a bunch of teenagers who have previously been under parental supervision are now able to have relationships and explore their sexuality as they are on a ship and have periods of days with nothing to do. Don't worry, things get less fluffy and romance driven as the plot goes on, but keep in mind it doesn't exactly last very long (I wouldn't put this fic past 15 chapters, and probably more likely around 10). Anyway, I'm feeling less ranty than usual, so I'll leave off here. Hope you enjoyed it, the second part is due out soon!<em>


	2. The Dance of Jupiter

_Author's Note: THIS DID NOT WANT TO GET WRITTEN (and I also still hate this title). Even though I didn't put an official date as to when I wanted the second chapter out, my goal was a week, and that became NEARLY two. I guess I got busy and or lazy. I also just simply ran into the issue stated in all caps. I don't get much writer's block with Golden Sun, but I got a bit here. Oh well. I'll stop whining, and continue whining after the break._

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><p>Chapter 2: The Dance of Jupiter<p>

Karis pushed open Matthew's door, her hand still lightly gripping Sveta's, and walked in. She sighed as she released the beast-girl's hand: they were such a joy to caress, dainty and coated with barely visible but velvety soft fur.

The reason for her hands being soft paws rather than her usual claws was, just as the princess of the fang tribe was able to transform into a ferocious and hulking beast, she was able to reduce her more animalistic features whenever she felt the need to do so.

This included her pointed teeth, which she could smooth over when they kissed, her clawed hands, which would revert to the small dainty paws Karis so adored, and her feet, which similar to her hands, would become more human and less sharp if she wanted to wear shoes.

Some of her features were permanent and unchangeable, which Karis was more than happy with. Her slightly pointed nose, delicate ears, and light coat of fur only served to make Sveta more beautiful in her eyes.

There had been some awkwardness at first in their relationship, with Sveta being a beastman and Karis being human. Human/beastman relationships were not very common, and it was not without reason; they had definitive differences, both mental and physical.

A month ago, when they were first starting to form a relationship, Sveta would often have trouble remembering to remove her claws, leading to her accidentally causing three gashes one day when Karis had gone to hold her hand. Of course, Sveta had apologized profusely, but Karis had not minded: nothing a simple Boon or Healing Gust couldn't fix.

Things had been a bit worse and slightly frightening when Sveta had forgotten to reduce her fangs. Karis had cut her lip and tongue on her sharp teeth, and Sveta had, upon tasting her blood, nearly lost control of herself, and quickly forced Karis out of the room.

The spell had faded quickly, and Sveta, after healing Karis's slight cuts and gushing out apologies over her carelessness, had explained to her that it was common during mating for beast-people to taste their mate's blood, sending them into a frenzy of lust.

Karis had smiled, and whispered seductively, "Well, I can't wait till we get to try that," causing her newfound partner to erupt in a deep blush.

Karis had actually begun to worry about how shy Sveta had become around her. When she had first joined the party, she had been naturally shy, but had loosened up in a week or so. However, ever since they had started seeing each other, she had become much more reserved. She knew Sveta felt slightly awkward about their relationship, mostly because they were both girls, and she had asked Karis to try to keep their relationship a secret.

Karis had been fine with that, and it had gone very well, up until they had been caught kissing on the deck. Ever since then, Sveta had reverted to being shy around the rest of the party as well.

Karis felt guilty about this: she didn't want to cause a rift in the party. Hell, who was she kidding, she already had. She frowned, pushing the thoughts of Matthew far from her mind. She had enough on her mind with Sveta, and a relationship that could work, that she couldn't spend time daydreaming about a relationship that was never going to happen… even if it could have.

Anyway, she had asked Sveta multiple times if anything was wrong, and if she was happy, but Sveta would always give her a cheery smile and answer, "Of course, Karis. I'm fine."

Ironically, at this moment she was broken from her thoughts by Sveta asking, "Karis, are you alright?" Karis blinked back into focus, realizing that she had sat down on the bed and that Sveta was next to her. She shrugged as a response to her question, and sighed.

Truth be told, she wasn't alright. But she didn't want to deal with it right now. Just like she hadn't wanted to deal with uncertain feelings for her best fr – she once again pushed the thought of Matthew from her mind, as it only served to bring a bitter taste to her mouth.

"Karis?" Sveta's paw gently nuzzled her cheek, and Karis felt her worries wisp away. She smiled, leaning her head into Sveta's shoulder. Slowly, she raised her arm and ran her gloved hand, her fingers slowly marching, up Sveta's back, until it rested on her head. "Karis…" Sveta whispered softly, then began to purr as Karis's fingers made their way to her ear.

Karis smiled as she glanced at Sveta's face, her eyes now closed, her lips parted and expanding tiny pants. Her nimble fingers ran the length of Sveta's ear, which were lightly twitching and nearly vibrating.

Karis gently grasped the end of the ear, pulling it slightly, causing Sveta to gasp and then let out a small moan. Then, slowly, she brought her fingers to the base of the ear, right behind it, and began to gently rub back and forth. Her smile widened as Sveta's panting became heavier, and her entire body began to twitch.

When Karis had figured out how much feeling Sveta had in her ears, she had instantly fallen in love with turning the already adorable beastgirl into a drooling mess of cuteness. Sveta was very nearly there now, as Karis began to dig her fingers deeper and with more urgency. Sveta's entire body was stiff, and her toes were curling from pleasure.

Finally, she could take no more, and fell backwards as she let out a long moan, Karis lying back with her, easing up her ear rub until she was simply stroking up and down the ear. They were inches apart, their faces toward one another.

Sveta opened her eyes, which were slightly dazed, and gazed into Karis's. Karis mentally cursed; she could tell that Sveta was still worried, but before the beast-girl could ask her what was wrong again, Karis closed the short distance between them, pressing her lips onto Sveta's.

It was funny; Karis always made the first move, but from then on, it was mostly all Sveta. She wondered if this was beastman custom as well, as Sveta returned the kiss, her hands lacing themselves around Karis's back. Karis responded by running her finger through Sveta's soft, pale lavender hair, stopping every now and again to give her still erect ears a slight graze or rub. In the back of her mind, Karis knew what she was doing, and she knew it was wrong. She was ignoring her problems and trying to fill the pain they were causing through pleasure.

All of a sudden, Sveta shifted her body so she was on top of Karis, and gently parted their lips, instead running her nose down Karis's neck before replacing it with flurries of light kisses and sometimes long strokes from her textured tongue. It was Karis's turn to moan, and any hesitation she had held moments prior dissipated, as Sveta coated her neck with her lips. Karis's hands soon found themselves travelling lower, at first grasping Sveta's love handles, then her hips.

Karis bit her lip to keep quiet, all the while her mind dully thumped _Oh Sveta, oh Sveta, oh Sveta, OH Sveta, oh Matthew, oh… oh hell_. And just like that, the image was broken, and all of the bliss she had been in vanished. She sighed, and felt Sveta's lips leave her neck, glancing up to see her innocent and piercing green eyes matching her deep violets. "Did I… did I go too far?" Sveta whispered softly, parting a few strands of hair blocking Karis's eyes.

Karis shook her head, and smiled. "No, Sveta, you were amazing… I just… I don't know." She bit her lip once more, this time in frustration. She felt bad, lying to Sveta, but the truth… she didn't even know what the truth was.

"Karis," Sveta's voice sounded once more, and her eyes held worry in them. "I know something's wrong, even without using Spirit Sense. You can trust me… you know you can tell me anything, right?" The smile that Sveta gave her then was so warm and full of compassion, that the idea of lying to her no longer presented itself as an option.

Karis needed to tell her the truth, or at least tell her how she felt. Before she could, Sveta lifted herself off of her, sat back down further along the bed, and then gently lifted Karis so her head was fitted in her lap, and she was staring straight up at her.

"Sveta, I'm not alright," Karis began, as Sveta patted her head gently. "I've been feeling off the last week."

"Matthew?" Sveta questioned, and Karis nodded. She racked her brain, trying to figure out exactly how to tell Sveta why she was feeling so much inner emotional turmoil. No clear ideas came to her, and she sighed.

"Sveta… I… I just don't want to talk about it, alright?" Karis said, looking Sveta directly in the eyes, hoping that she would understand. Of course, she did. The beast-girl gave her a sympathetic smile, before moving in and planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I love you, Sveta," Karis whispered, pulling her friend close.

"I love you too, Karis," Sveta replied, returning her embrace.

Karis wanted to indulge in the moment, and leave her thoughts behind. To push back all the insecurities and doubts that she had been wrestling with. She could do it with most of them, most likely. But one, the most painful, she had to address.

Karis had begun to worry that Sveta didn't actually want to be in a relationship with her. She knew that Sveta had, as royalty, never actually dated anyone. Karis herself had only had a few meaningless boyfriends, and Sveta certainly was the first person she actually held deep feelings for romantically.

What if… what if Sveta only saw her as a friend? Karis knew she had feelings for Sveta, but what if she was pretending the feelings were requited because she didn't want to hurt her feelings or their friendship? She knew Sveta liked boys well enough.

Karis was observant: she saw the way Sveta looked at Matthew. And hell, she saw the way he looked back… neither of them probably realized it, but Karis had. But before anything could happen, she had swooped in. "…Sveta?" Karis started wearingly.

"Mmm?" She purred in response, nuzzling lightly into Karis's shoulder.

"I want you to answer honestly. I've really loved a lot of things about this month. I always wanted to try being with a girl rather than a guy, and to be honest thought for a long while that I only liked girls. As I've told you, I've realized that's not the case, but still. I… I love being around you. I love talking to you, and I love doing things with you. But, at times, you seem… detached." Sveta's looseness slowly dissipated, her body tightening, foreshadowing her response. "You see me as more of a friend, and less of a lover, don't you?"

Sveta pursed her lips, staring straight ahead as Karis stared upward at her. "Karis, to be honest, I'm not sure," Sveta began, and then paused. Karis gave her a reassuring nod, and after a deep breath, Sveta began again. "Just as you said, I love being around you. You make me happy, regardless of our relationship. But, I don't know, about how I feel with… you know, dating another girl."

Karis nodded, and asked, "Are you worried about the social aspects, like how people will view you, or… do you not like the, um, physical aspects?" They both blushed, and Sveta averted her eyes. "Like, do you enjoy it when we kiss and snuggle?"

"Ummm… I mean, it feels nice, I guess. Especially when you rub my ears. And I've kind of gotten used to it, but sometimes it still feels weird. And sometimes… oh, Karis, sometimes when you are kissing me I imagine you're a boy." Sveta blurted out, her eyes sullen and her ears drooping low at her revelation.

"Shhh, it's okay," Karis whispered, rubbing Sveta's back and comforting her, though in the back of her own mind what Sveta had just revealed stung deeply. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

Sveta sniffled, and replied, "I didn't want to make you sad. You've been so happy the last month, and it made me happy. Well, up until this week. I know you really enjoy our relationship, and it made me happy too, getting to be close with you. I also know you really like it when we, um, kiss and snuggle, so even though sometimes it makes me feel weird I just go along with it. I'm sorry that I feel awkward or act shy sometimes, I'll work on that."

Karis shook her head, and responded, "Sveta, no, if you don't feel the same way, we don't have to be together. You shouldn't have to put yourself through anything awkward just to make me happy—"

"But, it's not that bad!" Sveta said, interrupting her. "I like it when we cuddle, and I usually like it when we kiss, it's just I sometimes feel bad when I… think about what it would be like with a boy. Like, I feel guilty that I'm imagining kissing someone other than you."

"Oh…" Karis said, her mind being drawn back to what had caused them to stop kissing in the first place; her thoughts straying toward Matthew. "I… I can understand that feeling."

"It's not that I don't find you attractive, or don't like being in a relationship with you. I mean, I feel awkward sometimes, but that happens in all relationships, right? I think I just like guys a little bit… more than girls. But I like being with you, and I don't think we should break up or anything."

"Are you sure Sveta?" Karis asked, her guilt rising as she pictured Matthew and Sveta holding hands, laughing, kissing, happy.

"Y-yes…" Sveta stuttered, nodding.

"Sveta. If you like boys more, then you should… I mean… I'll be completely honest, I've seen the way you look at Matthew, and I feel guilty that I'm coming in between you two. Especially if you'd rather be with him than me."

Karis tried to stay strong, but she faltered. She had been fearing this outcome for weeks, and had been stuck in a terrible hard place: continue a relationship she loved being in even though she felt guilty over it, or letting it end and letting Sveta be with Matthew. Which would be… which would just be…

"Karis… I… Matthew and I…" Sveta stuttered, knocking Karis from her thoughts. "It's just a crush. I mean, Matthew's a great guy, but… Karis?" She whispered as she noticed the tears falling silently from Karis's eyes.

"I'm so gods damn stupid Sveta," Karis said with a bittersweet smile. "You and Matthew will make a great couple. We, we're over. I just… need time to be alone." Sveta gasped, but before she could respond, Karis jolted from the bed, burst through the door, and ran down the hallway.

She didn't stop until she reached the deck, and heard strange music dancing in the night air. Quickly, a lone figure staring out into the ocean and leaning on the railing caught her eye. A glance at their blue hair and odd clothes let her know it was Amiti, no doubt playing his precious Tree Flute. In no mood to talk to anyone, Karis turned to find somewhere to be alone, but before she could Amiti's voice pierced the air.

"Hello, Karis. How are you?" A part of her still wanted to simply turn and run away, but she resisted that urge, turning to face the prince of Ayuthay.

She could already see him eyeing her puffy eyes with worry, but decided to leave no doubt in his mind. "Bad."

He grimaced, and nodded in understanding. "Would you like to talk?" It was Karis's turn to grimace. And yet, she hesitated refusing his offer. Amiti was level-headed, caring, and certainly wouldn't judge her. Yes, he had been arguably one of the most shocked at her and Sveta's relationship, but she really couldn't blame him for that. Hell, he had thought he didn't have a father up until this year: clearly his information on sex and relationships was limited. Maybe a third party to sort through her mind was all that she needed.

"I don't know, Amiti," She replied, walking over to him. "I think burdening you with my messed up love life is slightly unfair, and I don't even really know where to begin."

Amiti shrugged. "I'm not saying I know what's going on, but I do know some of what's been happening. If I'd wager a guess, either your relationship with Sveta isn't going well, or you're saddened by how you and Matthew have been acting around each other the last week."

Karis let out a dry chuckle. "Both. I just broke up with Sveta, and it's probably too late to save my best friend. At least they'll have each other."

"That's very noble of you," Amiti whispered, turning to face her. "Unrequited love is very painful. I imagine it's been hard for Matthew, and is now hard for you."

Karis shrugged. "I wouldn't say noble. It's really all I can do at this point. Besides, I've been horrible leading up to this point… I've been treating Matthew terribly, and I've been using Sveta to relieve my self-doubts about… never mind." Karis cut off quickly. She had nearly said too much.

"I'll make you a deal," Amiti said, stretching his shoulders. "I'll tell you something that's been bothering me that's personal, if you tell me what's truly bothering you." Karis hesitated, but felt her weariness wane as Amiti gave her a reassuring smile. She nodded, and he continued.

"I have been thinking of the same thing, unrequited love. More specifically, of my father, and whether or not he loved my mother, or simply used her to turn on the Alchemy Well. Sadly, I may never know. I worry that she died not from complications of my birth, but of a broken heart. That viewing me, something she had made with a man who had lied to her, caused her love for life to vanish."

His tone was calm, and his eyes clear, but Karis could feel the emotion radiating from him as he said these words; Amiti was of course their friend, but it was rare that he opened up as much as he just had. In particular, the party had danced around bringing up his father and mother, at first out of basic respect, and then even more so since Tret had mentioned he was related to one of them.

And now, she felt selfish and petty, for being so caught up in her little emotional squabbles over Matthew and Sveta, while here Amiti stood, having never met either of his parents, wondering whether or not his very existence had killed his mother.

"Amiti… I'm so sorry. That's terrible. I'm sure you're mother loved you, and wanted to raise you, and that it was complications that took her life. And if it was a broken heart, it was from him, not from you."

Amiti smiled, and replied, "Thank you for your kind words. My uncle often told me how happy I made my mother even in the few hours she knew me. Sometimes I wonder how truthful he was, as after all originally he told me I had no father, but I believe he spoke with honesty. It still hurts my heart, but not much can be done. Maybe someday I will meet my father, and ask him these questions myself. But enough of me. What is troubling you?"

Karis sighed, and closed her eyes. She had agreed to do this, hadn't she? Maybe he would understand if she refused.

On cue, Amiti said, "You need not reveal to me you woes if it brings you this much distress. However, I imagine you would feel much better after doing so. I promise to reveal none of what you say to anyone."

Karis nodded, and slowly began to speak. "About a year ago, Matthew told me he had feelings for me and wanted to be with me. I told him no, and that I didn't have feelings for him." She paused, a final barrier of hesitation holding her back. She held the silence for several moments, her thoughts in free-fall.

All of a sudden, she burst out," But it was a lie! The truth was that I was confused about my sexuality, as I had just realized I also liked girls and had discussed it with my father, and had feelings for Matthew that I was unsure of. On one hand, I loved being his friend, he was handsome and everything I could want in a guy, and our dads were pretty sure we were made for each other. But because of me being unsure about my feelings, I didn't want to risk ruining our friendship by getting into a relationship with him only to find out I didn't like guys or I only liked him as a friend.

"And now, the entire situation is screwed up. I started dating Sveta, and tried to keep it a secret because I knew he was attracted to her as well, but that blew up in my face. And instead of apologizing for hiding it from him when I should have told him in the first place, I misinterpreted his shock as anger and disapproval, and have been slowly pushing him away and destroying our friendship.

"If I hadn't been so… so stupid a year ago, and just said yes, none of this would have happened. I mean, I thought I liked girls, and I guess I wanted to try to be with a girl before I tried out another guy. And… well, I was right, I do like girls, but… gah, I guess I still like him too. So now, Sveta and I are through, Matthew probably hates me, and… puh!" Karis finished her rant by spitting into the ocean.

Amiti lowered his head, taking all of what she had said in, eventually replying, "You did have a lot on your mind. But it would seem more of it is on your heart. Affairs of the heart are always tricky, Karis. Don't blame yourself for saying no to Matthew previously. At the time, you valued his friendship more than a relationship with him. There's nothing wrong with that."

Karis shook hers, and responded with venom in her voice, "I broke his heart. I didn't even give him a chance. Then I stole another girl from him, and I've treated him like crap. There's plenty of wrong with that."

"Nothing an apology and an explanation can't fix," the young man replied, his serene eyes staring into hers. "You need to tell him that. It will be hard, but you have already said how much his friendship is worth to you. Losing that because you tried to save it would be terrible. I also think you owe Sveta a bit of an explanation. She must feel at least slightly guilty over the whole situation."

Karis sighed, and said, "Amiti… I don't want to… Matthew, he…"

"Karis," Amiti said, interrupting her and closing the distance between them by placing his hand on her shoulder. "Matthew has been distraught beyond belief the last week. No one has said anything, and he's been doing a spectacular job of trying to hide it, but it's clear that the gulf of your friendship has left him confused, saddened, and morose. Moreover, I do not believe he blames you in the slightest. Tyrell has talked to him about the matter, and he holds no ill-will toward you: he simply wishes to explain himself and fix things."

Karis gasped at this. "I… I should have figured, he has this tendency to blame himself for things he had no control of or no fault in. But… if he feels that way, why hasn't he tried to talk to me about it?"

Amiti pondered this for a moment, before replying, "Well, I'd imagine that would be for the same reason you haven't talked to him: he's been afraid it's already beyond repair, or that he would make it worse. I've seen him nervously pacing all around the ship today several times, trying to avoid a confrontation; he'd stop at corners and look around them, and at one point I believe he may have simply hid in the crow's nest for a few hours."

Karis frowned. "I didn't… I didn't know he was taking it so hard."

Amiti shrugged. "I haven't known him as long as you, and I would not say I have the observational skills that you and Matthew possess, which is why you are the best leaders in the party, but he has seemed very off. At any rate, whatever you decide to tell him, you should probably talk to him as soon as possible."

"I…" Karis sighed. "You're right. I actually know where he is: he's in Himi's room. I… I'll talk to him in the morning. I need to clear something up with someone else tonight."

"Sveta?" Amiti supplied, turning back toward the ocean.

Karis sighed, and replied, "Yes." Then after a pause, she whispered, "Amiti?"

"Yes Karis?" Amiti responded, not turning around.

"What would you do? I mean… I should let Sveta be with Matthew. But if I tell him the truth, that means, well, he'll know how I feel about him. Should I…"

"Karis," Amiti said soothingly, turning to face her once again. "Do whatever makes you happy. You are a beautiful young woman, and as difficult as matters like this seem now, you're only seventeen. You have plenty of time to make mistakes, and learn from them. You should do what your heart tells you to do, even if it's hard. That is what you did a year ago when you didn't know if you wanted to be with Matthew, and now it seems you do."

"But… Sveta… I…" Karis began to stutter. Things were a lot easier this morning, even if she and Matthew had been on bad terms. At least she had still been with Sveta; breaking up with her was starting to seem stupider by the minute.

"Karis, sometimes things don't work out for everyone involved. That's just the way life works; you have to accept it." Amiti said these words with a certain longing in his voice, and as she glanced into his eyes, she thought she saw a spark of… longing? She had seen that look before, in Matthew's eyes.

And then, it hit her. Tyrell had made some jokes about Amiti having a crush of her, but she had thought they were just that, jokes. Not that he really… and she had just spent ten minutes moaning about her love life to him, and she hadn't even given him a shot. "…Amiti, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" He replied cheerfully, and gave her a warm smile. She returned it, and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you for the talk, Amiti. You're… you're a really great friend." Karis whispered, trying to rid herself off the lingering guilt she felt. The warm way in which he returned the embrace helped.

"Of course, Karis. Any time." They shared another smile, before Karis turned, and went back the way she came, down towards Matthew's room.

Amiti turned back towards the ocean, and sighed. He had done what his heart had known was right, even if it wasn't what he wanted. He allowed himself a small smile. He hadn't know his mother, true, but he would often imagine that she watched down on him from above, and would smile when he did the right thing. Tonight, just maybe she was staring down at him from the star filled sky, a smile gracing her lips.

Karis walked quickly back to Matthew's room. Without knocking, she threw the door open, glancing at the bed to see Sveta sitting on it somewhat dejectedly but slightly roused due to the sudden opening of the door.

The moment they made eye contact, both Jupiter Adepts ran towards the other, Karis slamming the door behind her and Sveta leaping off the bed, both shouting, "I'm so sorry!" over and over, until they reached each other.

At which point, they both paused, before embracing tightly, this time giving each the opportunity to speak. "I'm sorry I ran out like that, I don't know what came over me…" Karis began, but was quickly interrupted by Sveta.

"No, I should have stopped you, or consoled you, or anything. Karis I don't want us to break up, we can—"

Her thoughts were cut short as the door opened, and in stepped Tyrell, saying, "Matthew, why did you slam our doo—whoops, walked in on a lesbian make out session." Both Karis and Sveta blushed, though Sveta's was deeper and was accompanied by a embarrassed "Eep!" that Karis would have giggled at if she wasn't so mad at Tyrell for ruining the moment.

Before she could yell at him, he quickly raised his arms in defense, and shouted, "Kidding! Just kidding! You guys are cute, I just, you know, didn't expect you to be doing this in our room of all places, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Get it! Because we're on a boat!" Tyrell devolved into silent laughter while Karis rubbed her eyes in disbelief and Sveta simply stared.

"Okay, I guess I'll be going now," He continued after a few moments, breaking out of his laughing fit. "Unless you wouldn't mind me joining in?"

Sveta let out another "Eep!" of embarrassment while Karis, a known Jupiter Adept who had only Jupiter Djinn on her at the moment, looked very close to being able to breathe fire. "TYRELL!" She boomed, putting one foot out in front of her, daring him to try anything else.

"Kidding, kidding, jeez, you guys are so touchy about this whole thing. I don't get what the big deal is. So there's no dick involved, so what? You know what, if you two can be together, why can't I and another guy date? You know what! Yeah! I've got it all figured out. So, I'll be going… unless…"

"OUT!" Karis shouted, her mind now filled with images of Tyrell and Matthew awkwardly kissing. "Just, out!"

"Okay, okay," The hothead replied, his signature grin not waning in the slightest. "But if you change your mind, you know where to find me. Or not, actually, since you're in my room. Oh well. Don't stain the sheets!"

Tyrell was very lucky he had possessed the foresight to equip a Zol Ring that morning, as without the agility boost it supplied him, chances are he would not have dodged the shot of Plasma Karis fired that moment at his face. Whether or not he deserved the said Plasma to his face was another story all together, one that did not cross his mind as he ran down the hallway, trying to decide which male on the ship was most likely to give this whole "gay" thing a try.

Karis sighed as Tyrell darted out of the way of her Plasma, and turned back towards Sveta. "Well… we should probably... talk," she said, motioning towards the bed. Sveta nodded hesitantly, and followed Karis to the bed. Karis sighed again, still not wanting to deal with the topic at hand.

Sveta, sensing her apprehension, asked, "Karis? It's been a long night… perhaps, we should wait until morning?"

Karis shook her head in frustration, before nodding. "Yeah. I just… I need to sleep some of this off." Sveta smiled, and standing up, began to remove her clothes, stripping down to her undergarments. Karis couldn't help but lick her lips as she took in the sights, staring at Sveta's back and… lower back.

Yes, she did share a room with Sveta, meaning she saw her change often enough, but that didn't mean she didn't appreciate every time she got to see her slim and muscular form with a good deal less clothing on.

Sveta turned back to Karis after she kicked her clothes into a corner, and blushed as she realized Karis was eyeing her body. She did little to hide herself though, facing forward now, letting Karis get a good view of her front as well.

Karis giggled after several moments, standing up herself and stripping down as well. Sveta watched her with a somewhat awkward longing, a small smile playing on her beet red face.

"Karis?" The beastgirl whispered, as her fellow wind Adept pulled out the covers of Matthew's bed and lied down in it.

"Mmhmm?" Karis answered, groggy, and ready to succumb to rest.

"…Are we broken up, right now?" Sveta implored carefully, her feet rooted to the spot.

Karis rolled over, and smiled at her friend. "I don't think so. Probably tomorrow morning, but for tonight, let's just say we're together."

Sveta wrinkled her nose in confusion, but did not push the topic further. "Alright," She replied quietly, and then suddenly leapt into the air and into Matthew's bed, landing next to a very surprised Karis.

"S-Sveta, I," Karis began to stutter, but was hushed by Sveta's lips.

"K-Karis, I don't want to go… you know… further than we have in the past, Sveta whispered, as he hand lightly grazed Kari's cheek. "B-But, I always wanted to sleep in the same bed as you, and snuggle with you, at least just one night."

Karis smiled, and returned the kiss with one of her own. "I've always wanted that too, Sveta. I think I'm going to sleep very well, tonight."

Sveta smiled, then lowered her head and nuzzled it into Karis's neck. Karis smiled as she felt the beastgirl's soft ears graze her smooth skin. Sveta, after a small yawn, whispered, "I think I will sleep well too. Goodnight, Karis."

"Goodnight, Sveta," Karis whispered, and as sleep slowly took her, for the first time in that entire day, she was at peace.

* * *

><p><em>I have even more mixed feelings about this chapter than I do the last one. See, this is what ended up going down: originally, this chapter didn't exist, and the current chapter three was chapter two, in which Himi and Matthew talk and then there are more shenanigans toward the end. However, I realized I REALLY needed a chapter that fleshed out Karis a good amount (she has a big character moment in chapter three) and Sveta at least somewhat. Along with that, I needed to introduce a few of the other characters, whether it be in serious ways (Amiti) or completely ridiculous ways (Tyrell).<em>

_Amiti has a significant role to play here, as does Tyrell. Eventually. I'm still trying to find a good way to fit Eoleo and Rief in, which may or not happen. I'm not going to force it. I have some ideas for Eoleo, less for Rief._

_Back to why this chapter drove me nuts: Karis's characterization. I pretty much wrote the majority of this chapter swearing at myself because I thought I was doing a bad job with her character. In retrospect, I think I did a good job. I think._

_Sveta's character is just adorable to write, but as things go on she gets less shy and more outgoing. Which makes me sad, but hey, character evolution._

_The pacing in this chapter also was grating in my opinion. And… oh, I don't know, I'm probably being overly self critical. I almost scrapped it a few times, and bleh. Stuff happens._

_Amiti served a plot need well, but I also used it as a way to flesh him out a little. Like I said, he'll have a role going forth._

_And oh goodness Tyrell is trying to hook up with one of the guys. This can only end funny. It was kind of spur of the moment, but this is partially a humor fic, and needs said humor. I'm looking forward to writing these sections._

_The "ear" scene was spur of the moment too, but I couldn't help but add it because the image of it was adorable beyond words and makes me dawwww. Karis and Sveta are too cute together._

_Finally, more concerns: I worried about the dialogue in this one (it was really dialogue heavy), once more the pacing, Karis's character, Karis and Sveta's relationship, and finally the plot. I mean, as I said last time, a lot of this is stupid teen romance, so a lot of humor and awkward feelings, but I don't want that to hold the fic back. The plot gets more serious as things go along, it begins in a somewhat lull of action._

_Okay, enough ranting. Next time it's Matthew and Himi, a bit more Karis and Sveta, and then finally a surprise. Also of note, the third chapter should be out realllly soon, because all I need to do is add in a Karis and Sveta section to it, and edit lightly. Otherwise it's already written. If it takes longer than a week send angry PMs, I deserve them._


	3. Three's the Charm

Chapter 3: Three's the Charm

_Funny story: while I still hate this fic's overall title, I've loved every single chapter title I've come up with for it._

_So, I finished chapter three (obviously, as this is it) yesterday, along with the next chapter of A Gentler Steam (shameless plug). It was great fun, as I had little to no homework, so I on and off wrote fanfiction for about six straight hours, lightly editing this one and adding a fair amount of content to it while writing the bulk of A Gentler Steam's fourth chapter, writing a grand total of 6,000 words._

_By the end of said surge I felt incredibly rewarded, but also incredibly tired, as after so much typing I was more or less working subconsciously and often ran into the issue of forgetting which fingers were which (leading to some truly memorable spelling mistakes)._

_Without spoiling anything, this chapter goes a bit differently than what I have said it would look like in the past, which I'll explain the reasoning for after the break. Also, one thing I should make clear._

_For the purposes of this story, Himi is fifteen. In my own head canon she seems around thirteen, but I think she can range from that to fifteen, and is just very tiny. She, actually, looks fairly Sheba sized, so it works. Anyway, just thought I'd clear that up before I get a lot of "…she hasn't his puberty yet but you're trying to ship her" in reviews. That would be awkward. Anyway, here we go._

* * *

><p>Matthew took a look around, this being for obvious reasons the first time he had entered the girls' room, quickly determining which side of the room was Himi's by the oriental bedding and a small Yamatain tapestry. Matthew's brow furrowed, and he sniffed the air: was that the smell of flowers? And the floor! It was completely neat! And the beds were made, and everything was organized!<p>

"Matthew?" Himi questioned, interrupting his thoughts once more. "Is there something wrong with our room? You seem to be gawking around it."

Matthew blushed. "No, no, nothing wrong with it, it's actually the opposite. I'm just not used to being in bedrooms so… clean." He grinned sheepishly as memories of the pigsty that was his bedroom at Goma Plateau game to mind. Tyrell's was worse, but he could still more or less swim in the mass of clothes that littered the floor.

Himi gave a small smile at his remark, and replied, "There are reasons we are called the fairer sex. However, it is two sided." She walked over to a wall, and gingerly adjusted a picture that was barely off kilter.

"In order to maintain the order, you must devote time, and commit yourself to constant observation and cleaning. The same goes for a female's body in some cases. In Yamata, my Kimono's were always ironed, the help in our palace would fuss if even one of my hairs was tussled, and I was expected to move slowly and carefully at all times. Such a chore, no?"

She pursed her lips, and her eyes locked with Matthew's in a slight bitterness. Then her face softened, and she quickly stuttered, "Oh, Matthew, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to rant. You must think be terribly spoiled and rude. My apologies." She placed her hands in front of her, and bowed low, causing her pigtails to once again hang low, bringing a smile to Matthew's face.

She was definitely cute, but too young for him, and not his type; seems like he was out of luck after all. Alas, there were other fish in the sea. He approached the young girl, and laid a hand on her shoulders, causing her to flinch badly. Matthew quickly retracted his hand, muttering a quick, "Sorry."

Himi rose, a light blush on her face. "My apologies once again; I was raised very delicately, as I was sick often in my youth, hence my somewhat small body. I'm… unused to physical contact. I appreciate the gesture, and offer my apologies at my reaction." Matthew grinned, and slowly reached out his hand, giving Himi a gentle back pat.

She smiled, and Matthew said, "Himi, you don't have to apologize for anything. I shouldn't have touched you when you weren't looking, I'm sorry if I broke any of your… cultural… things. My vocabulary is lacking, as I'm sure the other members of the party would be willing to tell you."

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "I can understand how being royalty could have its drawbacks. It's okay if you want to vent a little, that's what friends are for, after all."

Himi stiffened at his last comment, and lowered her face towards the ground before muttering something so softly he could not hear her.

Matthew, frowning and worrying that he said something to offend her, said gently, "What did you say, Himi?" She slowly tilted her head upwards so that he could see her eyes.

She softly replied, "You mean you and I are… friends?" Matthew smiled, and once more placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Of course we are; I consider you my friend Himi. Everyone in the party is friends with each other, even Eoleo and Amiti (although it did take a while for that to happen), and they are more or less complete opposites. Why would you think we aren't your friends?" Himi blushed at his words, and stared back down at the ground.

However, she spoke clearly this time. "I never really had friends before. All of the other girls were afraid to play with me because of my status most of the time, and half the time my status made it so I was too busy to even get a chance to play with them. And I… I was more or less forced to go on this quest. I'm not sure if anyone actually, well, likes me." Matthew nodded, but let her continue.

"Truth be told, even when I did have a chance to spend time with children my age, it was with mostly girls. I-I've never really been around boys before, which is why I flinched when you touched me. It's also why I've been avoiding everyone. I don't want to make a fool out of myself."

Matthew gave her a warm smile, and replied, "Is that why? To be honest, I was in the hallway because I was coming to look for you, and ask you why you had been so isolated. Karis and Sveta were worried."

Himi perked up at this. "Karis… and Sveta were worried about me?" She asked hesitantly.

Matthew nodded. "Yep. We all were, a little bit. We all like you Himi, and we want to get to know you." She smiled, and suddenly embraced Matthew in a warm hug. He was surprised at first, but after a moment returned it, wrapping his arms around the small girl, whose head was planted firmly in his chest.

They stayed that way for a half a minute, until Matthew felt her body began to tremble slightly, and heard sniffling. He parted the embrace to see tears running down Himi's face. She looked away from him in embarrassment, but he slowly lifted one of his hands to hold her cheek, and wiped away her tears with the other.

"Don't cry, Himi. I understand how you feel; I was silent for a good portion of this journey, mostly because I was convinced everyone would, well, wouldn't like me if I spoke up. It wasn't until Karis confronted me about my silence and refused to let it go that I spoke up about it. She was amazed I could think that, and let me know that everyone in the group thought I was great, and wished I spoke more. It was strange at first, but being more vocal has made me a lot more comfortable. Well, mostly…" He trailed off, frowning.

"Matthew, thank you very much for your kind words and advice," Himi said, grinning and wiping away the last of her tears herself. "But, you seem as if you have something bothering you as well, and I recall me inviting you in for that sole purpose. So, may I ask what is wrong?"

Matthew sighed. He really didn't want to get into the whole mess, but refusing to tell Himi would just undermine the trust and friendship he had just built. Maybe it would actually be helpful to get it off his chest. Himi motioned over towards her bed, sitting down, and patting on the space next to her to indicate for him to join her.

"Well," He began, "it's kind of complicated." Himi nodded, imploring him to continue with a light hand on his back.

"You see, I've had feelings for Karis just about as long as I've known her. I didn't really realize until I was sixteen, but even after that I kept my feelings secret because I figured she didn't feel the same way. Unfortunately, one day I decided that asking her out seemed like a good idea. She tried to be really nice and let me down easy, as in all honesty I think she partially blames herself and thinks she led me on and that some of the light flirting she did put the idea in my head that she liked me. Which are both kind of true, but that's beside the point. At first I thought it was just me, but as you can see apparently it was the male gender as a whole. Not sure if that's supposed to make me feel better or worse, but it is what it is."

Matthew paused, realizing how much he had actually just said. Usually he was still fairly soft-spoken, but that had been quite the monologue. Himi's hand still rested on his back, and she gave him a tight squeeze for moral support. He flashed a weary smile in return; it felt good getting the situation off his chest and talking to anyone BUT Tyrell about it (touchy subjects were definitely not his best friend's forte), but it didn't exactly change things.

Still, Himi had been very patient, and a part of him was happy she cared about his feelings, and had listened to his troubles. "Thank you for listening, Himi, I guess it's been bothering me more than I realize," He muttered, shrugging.

She nodded, and replied, "That is a hard situation. My father would tell me stories about his youth, and how he was a wild hooligan. He vied for my mother's heart, but because he was so wild and reckless, she rejected him. However, he matured for her, and worked hard to show that he had changed, and she fell in love with him. Maybe, if you continue to try to win Karis's heart, you can succeed. Sometimes, though, it is not that easy and there is nothing that can be done."

Matthew sighed. "Sadly, I think that might be the case here. I actually also have feelings for Sveta, but Karis kind of took her out of the equation as well."

Himi frowned. "That is most unfortunate. I can understand where you are coming from, though. I… may have developed feelings for one of the members of the party. More of a crush than anything, but still. The issue is, I don't think they feel the same way, partially because they already have strong feelings for another."

She paused, and Matthew felt his throat grow tight. Dammit, he had been TOO friendly. Now she was about to confess feelings for him, just when he thought things start might looking up.

But, honestly, what did he have to lose at this point? It's not like he had many options: waiting for Sveta and Karis to break up so he could make a move on the beast-girl was impractical, and at this point he had no shot at Karis unless he found some way to turn himself into a girl. Would giving Himi a chance be so bad?

Yes, yes it would. He couldn't toy with someone's heart like that. He needed to do the right thing, not send any mixed signals, and let her down easy. Himi began to continue, but Matthew coughed, and she paused.

"Himi…" He began. "I understand how you feel, and I should have seen this coming. I'm sorry, but, I just don't feel that way about you. To be honest, I considered it, but dragging you into the whole mess that is my love life would be unfair to you, and you would probably be better served looking elsewhere. I really like you, but in a more brotherly kind of way, you know?"

He dared a glance at her to gauge her reaction, and winced when he saw she was crying. But… wait… she wasn't, she was… giggling?

"Oh, Matthew," She said between giggles. "You're too sweet. I wasn't talking about you, even thought the thought has crossed my mind as well. I see you as a friend, a very good friend, especially after today, but not as something more than that." Matthew sighed in relief.

"I'm glad, I was worried for a second there. I don't want to be a heartbreaker, you know?" Himi nodded, and she and Matthew exchanged another embrace, though this one was much quicker.

As he pulled away, a thought popped into Matthew's head, and he wondered aloud, "Wait, then who is it?" Himi blushed, and turned away from him. "It's okay, Himi, you don't have to tell me if you don't wish to," Matthew said, worried he was being pushy. After all, this was the first real meaningful conversation they had experience with each other.

She shook her head, but did not turn to face him, and replied, "No, Matthew… I'm just slightly ashamed of it, and I fear that you will dislike me if I tell you."

"Himi…" Matthew gently grabbed her chin and turned it toward him. "I promise I won't dislike you, whoever it is. Unless it's Kraden. Or Eoleo. Well, I wouldn't dislike you, but that would be weird. Please tell me it's not either of them?" Himi shook her head with an amused giggle. "Then who?"

Himi glanced at her sandals, and sighed. Matthew was about to tell her to drop the subject, when she whispered, "It's Karis. I have a crush on Karis."

The pause following her revelation was lengthy and awkward. Matthew's mouth, seemingly involuntarily, opened and close several times before remaining shut as his mind raced. At first, he managed to partially convince himself she had said Chris, one of the pirates on board the ship, but it took only a moment for him to realize that made no sense.

Then, he tried to convince himself he had misheard her or had hallucinated what she had said. This failed as well.

Finally, he thought to himself_, this is ridiculous. Three on one ship. Every single girl on this ship! How did this happen? I didn't even know girls could like other girls until last week! Did we win the lesbian lottery? And of course it would be Karis! Why not? Not like it matters at this point as far as I'm concerned, but still. _

"I knew it... you hate me for it, don't you?" Himi whispered, her voice laced with melancholy." Matthew sighed, and on a whim gave Himi a pat on the head. "Matthew? Wha—"

"Himi, if you feel that way about Karis, you should try to make something out of it. Don't let me get in the way. I need to come to terms that she's unreachable to me, and hindering you or Sveta would just be plain mean. Oh, crap. Sveta. Well, that might be an issue for you, but if they break up, you should tell Karis how you feel," Matthew concluded, staring dully at the wall. This day was certainly turning out more interesting than he had expected.

"Thank you, Matthew. That means a lot to me," Himi replied, laying her hand on his shoulder. "I am sorry for your relationship woes. I am not sure for the depths of my feelings for Karis, but I would like to explore them, at the least."

Matthew nodded, then responded, "So, how long have you liked girls? Do you like guys to, or, what? I'm still honestly scratching my head as to how this whole liking someone of the same gender works."

Himi shrugged. "Hmmmm… well, when I was younger I never really was interested in boys as much, a few here and there I guess; we used to practice kissing with other girls, and I thought that was a lot of fun. I guess I always figured it was something that I would grow out of, or I just needed to find the right boy, but now that I've seen Karis and Sveta, and know that girls can be with other girls, I want to try it out. I guess I could be with a boy still. It is odd when you think about it."

Matthew nodded and shrugged at the same time. He had figured as much. "Yeah, it is. But that's okay, life's kind of odd. Anyway, I think I'm going to go to sleep."

"Okay," Himi replied. "It is getting rather late, I suppose I will be resting soon as well."

Matthew nodded, rising off the bed, before wincing and coughing. "Ummm…. Himi?" He started.

"Yes, Matthew?" She said, before yawning. Matthew couldn't help but smile at her yawn; Himi was truly very cute. In a younger sort of way, but still.

"Uh… well, the thing is, I offered Karis and Sveta my room so they could sho – er, do something together," Matthew said awkwardly. "And, seeing as they aren't back yet, I think they might have taken that as an offer to sleep in my room as well. That being the case…"

"Oh!" She cried out, realizing where he was leading. "Please, I would be honored to share the room with you, it is no trouble at all. I would just need you to look away when I undress."

"Great, thank you," Matthew replied. "My other option would probably have been the crow's nest, and truth be told I already spent quite a good deal of time hiding from Karis up there earlier today…"

"Oh. That is… most unfortunate," Himi responded. "But… why are you avoiding her?"

"Oh, I guess I left that part out," Matthew said, and shook his head. "I'm really getting out of it. Anyway, I reacted slightly badly to the news of her and Sveta being together, and Karis thought it meant that I was still bitter about her rejection, and angry that they were together."

"Hmmmm…. perhaps you should talk to Karis about your predicament, and explain to her how you feel, and that you support her and want to be her friend?" The younger Venus Adept suggested, as she pulled back her comforter and began to undo her pigtails.

Matthew sighed, as he slipped out of his jacket and jeans, leaving him with a pair of Venus Djinn themed underwear (a gift from his loving mother, though he somehow figured his dad had a hand in the idea) and a white undershirt. "I don't know, Himi. I'd really like to, but what if… what if I just make things worse? I couldn't stand losing her as a friend."

"Matthew, I'm sure if…" Himi trailed off as she realized Matthew had removed most of his clothing, and blushed deeply. "Oh, I was not aware that you were beginning to strip. Forgive me."

"It's fine Himi," Matthew replied, glancing between the two open beds… it was slightly, well, weird, but he wanted to sleep in Karis's, and was trying to decided which one was hers. At first he had looked for which one had Karis's distinctive green hairs on it, but then with a groan realized her hairs were, for obvious reasons, on BOTH beds.

"I'll be wearing this to bed, so I'm done taking stuff off."

"…Oh," Came her response. "You… wear clothes to bed?"

Matthew blinked a few seconds before his jaw dropped. "Wait… you sleep… naked?" Came his garbled response: the crow's nest suddenly sounded very comfortable compared to the awkward situation he was now in.

"…Yes," Whispered Himi, who now looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Is that… not common, to you?"

"Uh, I guess it's a little weird, but it's no big deal," Matthew said quickly, dismayed to realize he was probably being ignorant of her customs and was making her uncomfortable. "I mean, I don't know anyone else who does it besides Tyrell, but I make him wear clothes when we sleep in the same roo — huh." Matthew realized with a slight pang of guilt that Tyrell had nowhere to sleep. Oh well, he would probably find somewhere to crash, as he was fairly resourceful.

"I mean, it's fine Himi, I don't mind if you… don't wear clothes, as obviously you'll have on a blanket."

"Alright, just as long as it doesn't bother you," She replied timidly, and Matthew turned as she began to slowly take off her dress. He turned back when she said, "Alright, I am covered."

Matthew coughed, and, as awkward as it was, asked, "Which one of these beds happens to be Karis's?"

Himi gave him an odd look, before realizing why he was asking, and giggled. "Ah, love. Such a beautiful thing. Hers is the one to your right."

Matthew smiled, glad she didn't think he was creepy or odd. "Thanks… so, you sleep without clothes every night?" Himi, now fairly tired, gave a quick nod. Matthew, before he realized what he was saying, muttered, "Wow, Karis must get a kick out of that…"

As he trailed off, he mentally chided himself, and was about to apologize for the off color comment when Himi replied somewhat giddily, "Do you really think so?"

Matthew smiled at the irony. This was going to take some getting used to. "Himi, I'm sure she thinks you look beautiful."

"I'm glad," the young girl replied, yawning once more. "She always turns away… which is sweet of her, but I would not mind if she stole a few glances. I am tired now, Matthew. Let us continue in the morning."

"Mmmhmmmm," Matthew muttered absent-mindedly. "So… do they sleep in the same bed, or—"

"Matthew," Himi said, with a slight firmness to her voice. "Goodnight."

"…Right. Sorry. Goodnight, Himi." Matthew sighed, and closed his eyes, trying to will himself to sleep, but it was no real use: so much had happened that day, it was hard to wrap his head around it. His mind slowly drifted to a much more pleasant thought, even if it did hold a certain amount of bitter-sweetness to it.

The bed: it smelled like her. He sighed. Himi was right, he needed to talk to Karis. Even if he couldn't hold her in his arms, he wanted to be in her life, and if that meant never becoming more than friends, he was okay with that.

This thought didn't stop him from indulging in the fact that he was in Karis's bed, and certainly didn't stop him from imagining how heavenly it would feel for her to in it with him. These thoughts gently lulled him into imagining holding Karis in his arms, leading him to drift into the first easy sleep he had experienced in a week.

* * *

><p>Rief sighed. Sleep could not find him, as he had too much on his mind. He was slightly worried about the whole conflict between Matthew and Karis: both of them were very dear to him, and he could see that their rift was having a startlingly bad effect of the group as a whole. Matthew's calm demeanor as their leader was very important to the overall groups moral, and without if things just seemed unnatural.<p>

When everyone had been more or less completely dismayed and unsure of how to stop the Eclipse, Matthew had remained stoic and steady, never letting anyone think he was nervous or unsure of their next move in the slightest.

In the last week, though, his usually confident figure and eyes pointed straight outward had been replaced with a slouch and his eyes scanning the ground. Of course, the party was worried about him, but even more than that seeing him act in such a way was starting to cause THEM to act a little off. They needed to find a way to snap him out of it, and soon.

Otherwise, he only had one issue, and it was one that made him slightly embarrassed. He… well… missed Mia. He missed her a lot. It wasn't that he hadn't known he wouldn't be able to see her for a year of so while traveling with Kraden. He had known it would be hard to physically be away from her, but he had been able to contact her thanks Kraden's carrier pigeons before hand. That had ceased to be a possibility when he and Kraden had been forced to separate, and Rief had been somewhat dismayed.

Rief was more or less proud to admit he was a mama's boy: he had one of the greatest parents in the world. Mia was benevolent, understanding, caring, famous, and just in general all he could ask for in a mother.

He had already missed her presence enough, and had been depressed to think of her worrying over him because his letters had stopped coming. Not to mention that he no longer had contact with her whatsoever. She played a large role in balancing Rief's life, and without her kind words and care, he felt a little lost.

He had tried worked tirelessly to reunite with Kraden so that he may send her a letter again, but shortly after said reunion, the Grave Eclipse had occurred, and sending the pigeons out was no longer an option. He hoped she wasn't too worried… he knew she had been reluctant to send him out into the world, even with Kraden and Nowell by his side.

He was probably just over-reacting, but still…

Rief's ears perked up as he heard a creaking sound. It sounded like the door, and he could hear it slowly creak open then slowly shut. Rief's breathing became heavy: who on earth would enter his room at this hour, and for that matter, enter it stealthily?

A few more creaks of what he assumed to be footsteps sounded, each one closer and closer to the bed. Rief considered his options: he could confront the intruder with Psynergy perhaps, or ask calmly who they were. Before he could decide on a course of action, he felt and heard the person plop down next to him.

Rief held his breath, having a slight panic attack due to what was going on. All of a sudden, Rief felt the person's arms wrap around him. Rief gulped: he had to figure out what was happening. "Umm… hello?" He started.

"Hey." Came the voice of the intruder in return. It was a voice Rief knew well.

"Uh, Tyrell, I don't mean to be rude, but what the hell is going on?" Rief asked, feeling slightly miffed: he had legitimately thought he was about to be murdered, only for it to turn out to be Tyrell, no doubt pulling a prank to scare him to death.

"Yeah…" Tyrell began. "Sorry I kind of creeped in, I wasn't sure if you were asleep or not and didn't want to wake you. I need to crash somewhere because Karis and Sveta are in our room, for whatever reason, and as much as I was looking forward to staying and enjoying the show, I got the boot. Or the paw. Anyway, mind if I sleep here?"

"I guess that would be okay… I wonder why they're in your room. Any idea where Matthew is?" Rief asked, suddenly feeling sleepy. The boat could often be cold, especially his room, and Tyrell was very, very warm, being a Mars Adept.

"Nope. Well, I have a theory he's hitting on Himi, but that's kind of awkward. I know she's fifteen, but she looks like, twelve at the oldest. It would be good if he could get over Karis though. I have a feeling I might have turned her off to men for good." Tyrell finished with a massive yawn.

"She is kind of young, yes, but what's this about you and Karis? Were you two together?" Rief was curious, he hadn't heard too much about Tyrell, Karis, and Matthew's early friendship.

"Oh yeah, a long time ago. We were like twelve, and it was stupid as anything, but she made this whole 'I will never date a boy again!' vow after I burned her birthday gift… it's a long story. I'd rather not get into it. She got me thinking back then, though."

"Oh?" Rief asked with a yawn.

"Yeah. At first I thought she was just joking, but now I realize she was serious. At the time, I thought briefly that, if she didn't date boys, maybe she'd date other girls, but dismissed it. Yet here we are years later. I'm kind of taking her lead, too." Tyrell gently nuzzled his face along Rief's neck, and suddenly the young Mercury Adept got a sinking feeling in his stomach as to what was actually going on, and why Tyrell was in his bed.

"Er, what do you mean by 'taking her lead', exactly?" Rief asked, hopefully the answer wasn't what he thought it was.

"You know, the whole 'gay' thing. I'm giving it a test drive!" Tyrell exclaimed proudly, and Rief mentally groaned.

"Okay, I think we're done here," He replied, worming out of Tyrell's arms, grabbing a pillow and one of the blankets, and going down to the floor. This was scary, he thought as he lied back down: once Tyrell got an idea in his head, it was hard to get it out. Rief was not looking forward to the next wee—

Plop. Rief blinked as, once again, he felt Tyrell land next to him, and once again Tyrell's arms wrapped around him. "Tyrell? Perhaps you should take the bed?" Rief suggested, praying that the Mars Adept would take him up on his offer.

"Oh, Rief," Tyrell replied, in an eerily sweet tone. "It's not the bed that matters: it's the people you share it with. Goodnight, Riefykins." He let out one more titanic yawn, and then began to snore profusely.

Rief sighed. This was going to be a very, very long night.

* * *

><p><em>(Warning, this is a really, really, really big author's note. I have a lot of stuff to cover, and I was feeling ranty, so, yeah)…Poor Rief. But that's for later. So, like I said, this was originally going to go a bit different. Chapter three originally was going to be what you see here minus the TyrellRief and then a Karis/Matthew confrontation (the Karis character moment I talked about last chapter's author note). That's not what happened though, for a few reasons._

_One was because I got the idea for the Tyrell scene and had to fit it in somehow, but it really was a combination of factors. I also wanted to expand Himi and Matthew a BIT more, along with Karis and Sveta before moving the plot along. However, I couldn't fit all of that in here, as it would have been getting near 8,000 words if not more (my cap for chapters usually hit 7000), so I decided to push those two things back and put in the little comic reRief (terrible pun) at the end._

_So, next chapter will be Karis and Sveta, then Himi and Matthew, then said confrontation, and maybe a small Amiti sighting. Or hell, it might be none of that, as I keep saying what the next chapter will look like and then it turns out completely different._

_But enough about the future, back to the present. Later, we can go back to the future! If it isn't obvious, I might be a little hyper as I write this._

_This chapter lives and dies by Himi and Matthew's characterizations, their interaction, and their relationship. I'd imagine that if Camelot had made A: Matthew talk, and B: Himi a character rather than a pig-tailed vision-enhanced plot device, they would be very amiable and siblingish. I think it's not too far-fetched to believe that (and I think you can see in the games) members of the same Elemental Clan are drawn to each other and develop deep relationships with each other very easily, so Himi and Matthew being brotherly/sisterly seems fitting._

_Not that I can't see them as a couple, it's just, well, man Himi looks like she's twelve. It's hard for me to push past that and have her be in any sort of ship._

_Before anyone accuses me of this fic being completely unrealistic, as currently all three of the female members of the party are out of the closet or at least have a foot sticking out of it, here is my reasoning: once again, they are presented with an opportunity most teenagers don't get in regards to exploring their sexuality. The only parental figures they have are Kraden (who lets them combat terrible and destructive monsters, so he is a pretty crappy guardian) and a bunch of pirates, neither of which are going to get angry at them for doing whatever the heck they want relationship wise._

_Secondly, I think girls are naturally more open to exploring their sexuality in some cases then men. Third, all three of the girls are more or less bisexual, so guys are still in the equation… they're just exploring. Finally, fourth, just because only one guy is considering other males at the moment (…oh Tyrell), that doesn't mean the rest of them won't (hinty mc hint hint)._

_Finally, you can't tell me there isn't canon evidence of Karis/Sveta (hell, there's more evidence towards them than either Spirit or Dawn, because unlike Matthew, both of them actually TALK). They are very friendly toward each other in game and conveniently seemingly spend the entirety of the trek away from Belinsk after the night of the Eclipse alone below deck. And with Himi, I have a pass because SHE HAS NO IN GAME CHARACTER._

_Oh, speaking of which, Himi's character. I have a hard time explaining where I'm trying to take her character, because it's hard to describe the characters in words in general, let alone the ones that have limited characterization. With her, I tentatively laid out what I wanted her character to look like, and then more or less just let her naturally evolve on the page._

_Without spoiling too much, as things move on she'll get out of her shell more, and become more human. Well, I mean, there's only been one chapter, so obviously I couldn't construct her character in one go, but you know. I think. I see Himi as a very introspective and calm person, but with a more innocent and somewhat childish side that comes out when she is comfortable or in certain situations._

_Also, there is a really cool character dynamic with her and the Third Eye, and while it hasn't shown up yet, it's in the title for a reason, and will play a large role. How much control does she have over it, and how does a young girl feel knowing how much of a weight she has on her shoulders? All interesting questions that I'm interested in answering. This fic, more than anything (besides a lot of stupid teenage romance as I've said in the past that irons out into actual romance), is about developing Himi as a character. That being said, it only took me two chapters to bring in the centerpiece of the story, huh?_

_My plan is to wean her in through one or two more chapters, and then BAM, a chapter from Himi's perspective. That will be the first true test (besides the mess that was finishing Chapter 2) for this fic, and I look forward to it._

_Man this is a rant. Okay, two more pieces of business to go over: first, in response to JustAnotherRandomPerson, I am happily willing to put in a Matthew/Tyrell scene, even though it would be incredibly one sided, and even then barely one-sided considering for all intensive purposes Tryell is completely straight and being the impulsive goof he is in trying to get into a relationship with another male on the ship. I was already considering a Matthew/Tyrell scene, as I kind of wanted to give him a shot with everyone (…I have devious plans), so I shall gladly put it in, but sadly it probably won't scratch your itch for a true Matthew/Tyrell fic._

_So (as I'm happy to take requests from people on what they'd like to see as long as I have interest in writing it), I'll in the next month give a go at a Matthew/Tyrell. It makes sense when you think about it. The issue here is I have not written any male on male romance (well, nothing serious, mostly because I don't trust myself to do it right), and not sure how good it would be._

_I'm actually fairly positive my girl on girl romance is fairly lacking as well, so there's that. I only began to read male on male romance a few weeks ago, because I'm all for diversity and equality and figured cutting myself off from good writing because it had two guys together is just moronic._

_In case anyone is wondering why so much of my content deals with same-sex relationships, I'm kind of used to them (I'm straight, but I'm close friends with people who are gay and whatnot), so it just kind of naturally happens. I don't think "YAY! IT'S SLASHFIC TIME!" I just think, "Man, Sveta and Karis would be so cute together", and then when I look them up, I see two or three stories about them._

_Which leads me into the second reason: in a lot of cases I write the fics I write to fill in gaps based on shippings and such (and would do so based on gaps in genre if I wasn't such a hopeless romantic…) that are just not done too often. IE, Shoreline with Rief and Karis, this fic with Karis and Sveta, A Gentler Steam with Sheba and Jenna (well, not really, but kind of), and Let There be Sparks being a fic with sex in it that tries to put the sex in context with a plot. Same-sex ships get little to no love, and some of them work really well (Karis/Sveta, for instance)._

_Okay, finally going to leave off with how much I love Tyrell's character. Poor Rief. I had a blast writing that scene, and have plenty of ideas on how to make Tyrell even more ridiculous as time goes on. Speaking of Rief, found a way to plug in a bit of his character here. Now, listen. I know it might seem like I'm taking shots at him because he's a self admitted mama's boy. But you know what? MIA FREAKING ROCKS. If I was her son, I would be one hell of a mama's boy too._

_Like, if I imagined people both fictional and nonfiction, she's definitely be on the list of best mothers. You can just tell. It's actually interesting to think of what parents are going to show up in the future. I… okay I just lost it. Best idea ever, but I don't think I can get away with doing it. What a shipping though, what a shipping. Let's just say I'm tempted to ship one of the Warriors of Vale with one of the Eclipse Eight, and it would be a stretch but a great one. So tempted._

_Okay, this has been a huge enough rant, I'm going to leave off here. Most of this was stream of consciousness, so you know… well, thank you for reading (especially if you waded through this mass of crazy ranting), and reviews are always welcome. Next chapter hopefully up in a week or so._


	4. Jupiter and Venus

Chapter 4: Jupiter and Venus

_…What? I'm updating… early? This is an odd but good feeling. Alright, this one is kind of a doozy. It's JUST under 7,000 words, and that's not counting the author's notes, which as I'm sure you've notice by now can get pretty damn large themselves. Umm… not much to say here, trying to post this quickly so I can nap. Great think, naps. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Karis was gently lulled from sleep by a light, wispy sound. She yawned silently, and slowly realized where she was. With a small smile, she recognized the sound to be Sveta breathing lightly near her ear. Sure enough, the beastgirl was cuddled up to her in a spooning position, her arms wrapped around Karis.<p>

The sunlight was pouring in from the small circular window directly on Sveta, warming her fur, and as such warming Karis as well. It was a wonderful feeling, and by all means the perfect beginning to the day.

And yet, the sunshine faded quickly from her thoughts just as a cloud drowned the sunbeam coating Sveta. She knew that this day held multiple potentials, and feared a good deal of them.

Still, she had no desire to cloud her thoughts with the future; the present was too divine. Moving slowly as to not wake up Sveta, Karis turned herself over, so that she was now facing her fellow Jupiter Adept. As she tried to keeps her thoughts happy and carefree, she could not help but linger on the truth of the matter. That she may very well never experience such a feeling of bliss with Sveta again.

She sighed, and tucked her head into the beastgirl's neck. She breathed in deeply, and smiled: Sveta smelled like lavender.

"Mmmmm…" Sveta stirred, but rather than wake, she reverted to stillness. _I don't want to lose this, _Karis thought to herself, her hands naturally snaking around the beautiful girl lying next to her. _I love this. But… does she love this? And would I… would I love this more if it was Matthew instead? What the hell am I thinking: I'm in a stable, wonderful relationship. Why do I want to change this? I mean… Sveta says she feels the same way, but sometimes I don't think she does. And who am I kidding, what are the chances of this relationship being successful long term?_

_ Volchek is likely dead, and if he indeed is, she will be queen. And if she's queen… well, it would already have been hard enough for us to be together as she's royalty, but if she was the highest in command… would the people of Belinsk support her significant other being another girl, not to mention a human? At any rate, I'm going to have to go back to the lookout cabin for at least a while, and that means… I'll be alone with Matthew and Tyrell. More specifically, spending a lot of time near Matthew, which would be great… if we were together. But if we weren't, then it would be awkward beyond belief. Maybe I should just… _

_ "_Dammit!" She swore. This shouldn't be this confusing. Her head was swimming with all the possible routes she could take, and simply overwhelmed. She had always been proud of her bisexuality, inwardly until recently, yes, but proud nonetheless. Now it simply felt like a burden that was making her life more difficult: if she had just said yes to Matthew…

Then she never would have gotten to be with Sveta. She cursed again, this time louder; no matter where her thoughts led she kept going in circles. At her curse, Sveta stirred once again, but this time did indeed awake.

"Good morning, Karis," She whispered, rubbing Karis's green hair with her dainty paws.

"I'm sorry I woke you up… I shouldn't have sworn so loudly, I know how delicate your hearing is," Karis replied, enjoying the feeling of Sveta's fingers lightly massaging her scalp.

"It's fine, judging by the smell in the air it is near breakfast time anyway," Sveta said, as Karis removed her head from her neck so she could look into her eyes and hear her more easily. "But, why were you swearing? Is everything all right?" Sveta eyes pierced Karis's and she sighed. Even though Sveta refrained from reading their minds, it was almost as if she didn't need to; her eyes were so striking that they brought anyone who gazed into them the urge to tell her the truth.

"I was thinking about everything that happened last night…" Karis whispered, trailing off.

"O-Oh…" Sveta replied, her eyes suddenly sullen as she averted her gaze away from Karis's eyes.

"And as much as I don't want to, I've put it off enough. We need to talk," Karis said with firmness and resolve. She couldn't keep dancing around the topic at hand, as much as she wanted too.

"I-I suppose you're right," Sveta answered. "But no matter what Karis… I love you. You know that, right?"

"Oh, Sveta," Karis whispered, and felt her eyes start to water. Why was this so damn hard? Of course she knew the answer: no matter what, someone was going to get their heart broken. And she, as much as she despised it, would most likely choose who: she was more assertive than Sveta, and the beastgirl was so kind she would naturally go along with whatever Karis asked of her.

"Karis… can I tell you something?" Sveta asked, stroking Karis's cheek. She nodded, and Sveta continued. "When I first used Spirit Sense on everyone, you had… well… one of the most beautiful souls I've seen in my entire life. I was struck by how kind and radiant you were, and even then, I knew that somehow, you would become an important person in my life. I love you, Karis."

Karis lost control, and the tears began to fall. And yet, they were only partly tears of sadness; no, above all, they were tears of happiness. "Thank you Sveta," She gasped in between a light sob. "That means a lot to me."

Sveta patted her lightly on the back in support for a few moments, letting her calm down, before asking, "What's wrong, Karis? You can tell me, I promise, I'll—"

"Oh, Sveta, it's just a mess. I'm stuck. I want to be with you, but everything's just set against it. We have to go separate ways after our journey ends, providing we even stop the bloody eclipse, no one from Belinsk would except our relationship and I would be an unnecessary burden to the already terrible weight of royalty. Then, I know, I know that as much as you care for me, only half of you really wants to be WITH me, and forcing you to be my love when you are straight or only want to be friends is cruel.

"And then, holy hell, there's Matthew. He's been depressed as, as fuck because I've been treating him so terribly all because I've been guilty over how I rejected him when, oh hell Sveta, when I felt the same way about him and was just confused about my sexuality, and tried to take his reaction as him being an asshole when he was just confused. And then, you have a crush on him, I have feelings for him, he wants to be with both of us, I want to be with you, and I thought maybe I should just be with him, because we'll eventually be going back to the cabin together, but then I want to be with you, but you are only with me because you care for me deeply but not as a lover, and if I go with him you'll be miserable, and if I do the right thing and let you two be together then I'll be miserable and Matthew will… just… ugh."

Karis stopped to breathe, having sputtered so many words and thoughts out in under a minute, her eyes firmly not matching Sveta's. In fact, she closed them, unable to glance at the girl in front of her, and sat in silence.

She sniffled, tears still squirming out from her closed eyes. "Shhh," came Sveta's soft voice, which was followed by Karis feeling the beastgirl warm arms wrap around her. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'm here."

"Why?" Karis whispered, opening her eyes and staring into Sveta's emerald orbs. "I'm so selfish… I've been keeping you in this relationship when you don't—"

"Karis," Sveta interrupted, and her voice was surprisingly stern. Karis gasped: Sveta had never used this tone of voice with her before. "I have told you before, and I will say it again: I am with you because I want to be. If I did not want to be in a relationship with you, I would not be in one with you. In no way should you feel like you are forcing me to be in this relationship. I trust you with all my heart, and if I wanted to break up with you, I have no doubt that you would be completely understanding, so I would not hesitate to tell you.

"I apologize for letting you think that I might be staying in our relationship in order to avoid hurting your feelings. That is not the case at all. I am in a relationship with you because I want to be… yes, there are bumps, but… I love you. Yes, I'm confused if I love you as a friend or something more. But I have enjoyed being with you, and do not regret it in the slightest. I…" Sveta leaned forward, and kissed Karis. Karis blinked in surprise, but did little to resist the sweet motion.

Sveta pulled back, her face now flushed. "I'd be lying if I say I don't like that. I've spent a lot of time thinking of whether or not I want to be your friend, or lover Karis, and… I'm still not sure. I think, if anything, I have been selfish: not once have I asked you what YOU wanted, and it is about time that I do so. So, you say that you do indeed have feelings for Matthew. Do you want to be with me, or with him?"

"S-Sveta…" Karis whispered. "I-I don't know. I like both of you. I've always loved Matthew, in a way, I guess. I just didn't want to screw up our friendship when I wasn't sure how I felt about him. Now, I would like to be with him, but I love being with you."

Sveta nodded, and took in a deep breath, before replying, "Karis, Matthew loves you. There is no doubt in my mind of that fact. He wants to be with you more than he wants to be with me, and more than I want to be with you. Make no mistake, I love you, but my feelings are still fuzzy… his are clear. As much as it pains me, I will not stand in between the two of you."

"S-Sveta, no!" Karis shouted, but was silence by Sveta bringing her finger to his lips.

"Yes. That is final," Sveta said with calmness, though it did little to sooth Karis's feelings of guilt.

"But, Sveta, you have feelings for him too! You deserve a chance, I already had one and I passed mine up…" Karis said in melancholy. She didn't deserve this compassion and understanding. She was beginning to feel she didn't deserve much of anything, neither Sveta nor Matthew.

"I-I have a crush on Matthew, yes," Sveta replied with a heavy blush. "But he is your best friend, and you have known him longer. Besides, there is no doubt in my mind that Matthew is deeply in love with you, and let us be honest: he has gotten the raw end of the deal the last week and, well, year. He has been slowly sinking into depression, and if I were to date him, think of what would run through his head: not only would he still not have you, but he would feel guilty for taking something that made you happy away from you. No, Karis, he deserves you. And you deserve him. I have felt your inner turmoil the past week, but even before that as well. You do not give yourself enough credit for being the wonderful person you are, and I wish I had known sooner what you were beating yourself up about."

Karis sighed. She had never been able to say no to Sveta, and chances weren't good she was going to be able to now. "Okay, Sveta. You win. I just feel so… bad. I broke Matthew's heart, I stole you from him, and then threw him into a week-long depression and I'M getting the happy ending? You're the person who deserves one."

"I refuse it, and I shall give it to you. I want to see you happy, Karis. I don't know if anything else makes me happier." Karis smiled at these words, and felt the tears build in her eyes once more.

"Oh, Sveta… thank you." Karis embraced the beastgirl as waves of emotions crashed into her and inside her. Sadness, guilt, happiness, love, jealously, rage, confusion, regret. She was consumed by all of them until Sveta's soft and warm body erased all of them, leaving her with only love and joy.

"…Sveta?" Karis whispered, her chin resting on the beastgirl's shoulder.

"Mmm?" She purred in reply.

"If Matthew and I do not end up together, will you promise me you'll tell him how you feel?" Sveta parted from Karis's body, and stared deep into her eyes. After several moments, she nodded, and Karis smiled. "Good. And… one more question. If, if I ever want to… I mean, if we ever… if you…"

"If things turn out as such, would I like to try a relationship with you again?" Sveta supplied, a warm smile across her lips. Karis nodded hopefully, and Sveta nodded in return as well. "Of course, Karis. I would love to. Now, though, I think it might be best if we left this room, as Matthew and Tyrell may need to get some fresh clothes, and it is near time to eat."

"…You're right," Karis replied, and rose off the bed, lending Sveta a hand as well. "We should… leave." She turned to face Sveta, and sighed, whispering with longing, "I'll miss you."

Sveta smiled sadly, and whispered back, "You don't need to miss me, Karis. I'll be right here with you, whenever you need me."

They embraced once more, then parted to dress, and after they were fully clothed, left the room hand in hand, one last time.

* * *

><p>Matthew smiled as he blinked his eyes open, and leaned up slightly off the bed. He had dreamed so many pleasant dreams… and yet, it appeared he was still in one. In front of him stood Karis… and she happened to have misplaced all of her clothes. It was the back view, which he was more than fine with: if this was a dream, he was no doubt going to get a view of the front soon enough. He blushed; yes, he had dreamed of her like this before, but it had been a while…<p>

And yet, something was wrong here. He frowned as he tried to figure out what. She seemed… younger. Well, at any rate, somewhat shorter and thinner. And… wait… that didn't make any sense. Karis's hair was green, not black—  
><em>OH CRAP ITS HIMI,<em> Matthew mentally shouted, snapping his eyes shut and throwing his head back down onto the pillow.

There was a moment of silence, followed by Himi, in a trembling whisper, said, "M-Matthew?" Matthew said nothing, deciding that by far the best course of action was to remain still, silent, and pretend that what had just happened hadn't.

Mentally, he was already attempting to remove what he had seen from him mind. It had only been her butt, but still. At least the gods hadn't been cruel enough to have her be facing him. Then he would have gotten a full view of what was decidedly a friend with whom he had just managed to establish a decent relationship with, and what was arguably worse, she would have seen him looking. And as he had believed her to be Karis, he had been wearing quite the dopy grin.

He heard Himi sigh in relief, and the rustling of clothes. So she had been getting dressed when he had awoken; that made sense. Her hair must have been up, as if it had been down he would not have been able to see her backside and no doubt would have never imagined her to be Karis, whose hair was nowhere near as long. She had probably done her hair and then moved on to dressing herself, no doubt trying to do so before he awoke. He sighed under his breath. That had been too close.

After a good five minutes of waiting JUST to make sure she was finished dressing and didn't believe he had seen anything, Matthew let out a large and long yawn.

"Good morning Matthew," Himi chimed, walking over to him. "Did you sleep well?"

Matthew let out another yawn, and nodded. "It's been awhile since I've slept well, actually. I'm feeling pretty good overall…"

"…Good enough to talk to Karis?" Himi supplied.

"Uhmmmm…" Matthew said, wincing. He was hoping maybe she would drop the subject, even though they truly hadn't finished their conversation from last night.

"Matthew… even if you and Karis cannot be together, you must do everything to salvage your relationship, and it is my belief that the longer you wait, the worse things may become. If… if you need moral support, I could accompany you as well. I will refrain from talking to Karis about my feelings toward her if or until she becomes single, but I could disclose everything else you discussed with me, and vouch for you."

Matthew sighed. "Actually, Himi, I was thinking about maybe waiting a bit longer, you know, just to—"

Himi pursed her lips and interrupted him, saying, "I do not think that is a good idea. You and Karis are important to each other. I know it is hard, but you have to have faith. I believe in you! Here, I shall grace you with an old Yamatain prayer!"

"Ummm…" Matthew muttered as Himi began to close her eyes and chant softly. "Himi, really it's fin—"

"You will make a choice," came Himi's voice, but it was not soft and slightly stern as it had been prior, but ethereal and resounding.

"Wha—" Matthew gasped as he stared at Himi, whose eyes were glowing bright white. The Third Eye however, was glowing bright red, and seemed to be gazing into his very soul. Her hair was slightly raised from her head, and it would have caused her to look quite amusing if her face did not look so scary.

She continued speaking, interrupting him. "The world lies in peril. You know what you must do to save it, but you are unaware of how directly it pertains to you. Indeed, your actions will determine more than its fate, but your own."

Her eyebrows creased, and she stepped forward, her hand extended. Matthew, incredibly frightened as to what was going on, tried to move away, but before he could roll over on the bed vines rose from the floor and snaked around his body, coiling him to the mattress.

Himi's hand found his forehead, and he shouted, "Himi, snap out of it! You're really freaking me out!" But the young Venus Adept paid no attention to his pleas, and began to speak once more. As she did, Matthew began to see visions in front of him, visions of… Sveta… and Karis? What on earth?

"You must choose." Himi said as he squinted, making out both Karis and Sveta panting heavily. The setting was odd; it seemed to be some kind of sanctum, filled with bright light. Karis and Sveta were on the ends of a line of four of their party, with Matthew and Eoleo in the middle. They seemed to be fighting a great mass of darkness, but its shape was unclear.

As he tried to make sense of what the mass was, it suddenly lashed out. Time slowed as two tendrils flew from it, one towards Karis, and one towards Sveta. "Both will hang in peril," Himi's voice rang. "Both will be unable to avoid the assault of darkness themselves." Matthew tried to scream or move as he realized that both Jupiter Adepts were too winded to dodge the attack. He could see the realization in their eyes, the shock, the fear, the understanding. Whatever the attack was, it was too powerful, and too fast. They would not survive.

"You will choose, and your choice will seal their fates." Matthew glanced between the two, who had both turned their heads to him. Karis held a smile, but the look in her eyes was so full of regret, so torn, so sad. Sveta's was happier, filled with melancholy, yes, but with joy as well.

"Do as your heart tells you, young warrior, for even as you feel the weight of shadow's bane, your heart remains pure. However, know this: if you choose correctly, both will survive. But if you choose wrong, both will perish, and you will live a sad existence."

Matthew tried to force words out, to question what the hell Himi, or whatever the hell was in her, was talking about, but he simply could not speak. As the tendrils reached the two girls, overwhelming dark clouded and blinded Matthew; he could see nothing. Suddenly, the darkness burst as light poured in from every feasible plane, and soon Matthew could barely see for the bright pouring of Sol surrounding him.

"Trust your heart. Go towards the light," Himi finished, and suddenly the light in her eyes faded, as did the glow of the Third Eye, and her hair fell down to its normal position. Just as spontaneously as they had appeared, the vines holding him dissolved. Her eyes blinked closed then flashed open, and she smiled.

"I truly love the old prayers… they are very beautiful, my mother used to hum them to me to lull me to sleep at night. Hopefully it helped you find confidence. I am fully dressed and have done my hair, so once you are ready we may go search for Karis."

Matthew simply sat with him mouth open in shock, wondering whether or not she was being serious or screwing with him. Somehow, he doubted it was the latter: it certainly did not seem like that was in Himi's nature.

She had also publicly confessed that she was in no way in control of the Third Eye, so that meant… He swallowed. That meant he had just witnessed a prophecy of sorts—no, more like a window into the future. He felt his heart nearly stop. Karis and Sveta… dead? What? It didn't make any—

"Matthew? Is everything okay?" Himi asked with slight fear creeping into his voice. He blinked, and tried to remove the shock and terror from his face, but it was not easy. What should he tell her? The truth? Yes, but perhaps not now. He needed to calm down, and she had just woken up.

"Ummm, yeah, I was just zoning out. Kind of worried about Karis," Matthew replied with a shaky laugh. Himi stared at him with a look that made it clear she was not sure he was being entirely truthful, and coughed.

"Are you sure?" Himi questioned, and then blushed lightly. "I mean… I heard a noise earlier while I was changing, and thought that, perhaps… I mean… if you accidently looked without realizing what was going on, there's no need to feel bad, or…"

"N-No," Matthew sputtered out, none to thrilled that she had decided to bring the awkward event back up. "Just… scared about today, that's all."

"No need to be," Himi replied, after breathing a sigh of deep relief. "I'm sure it will go fine. You just need to be strong, and remember that you have done nothing wrong. Karis is a very understanding person from what you have told me; in this case I would wager there is something else bothering her besides you, and you sadly received a bit of backlash as a result when she mistook your reaction. However, if you apologize and explain to her your side of the story, she will no doubt understand."

"I hope so…" Matthew whispered, and sighed. For a moment, he allowed himself to wallow in his sadness and fear once more. However, he then lifted his head up with purpose, and said, "No, I know so. I'm not going to lose Karis. I can't personally, and our damn fight is tearing our party apart. If I'm our leader, I can't let that happen: I should never have let it happen in the first place. I have to do this, for me, and for the party. Let's go."

Himi beamed at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. She really could radiate joy when she wasn't completely silent, possessed by some ancient device that had drilled itself into her forehead, or kind of acting like his Mom and forcing him to do things he didn't want to do.

"You really are a great leader, Matthew. I'm glad to see your resolve has returned. We need your strength and guidance in this quest," Himi said, and Matthew could not help but think of Karis and Sveta, sprawled lifelessly on the strange ground in the vision he had witnessed. "I have only been with the group for a short time, but I can clearly see how important you are to everyone here, and why they follow you.

"…By the way, thank you for, well, talking to me about how shy I have been. As I said before, I'm slightly awkward around other people because of my child-hood, and to be honest I was worried that the Third Eye might weird everyone out. It scares me sometimes, truthfully." Matthew gulped. She kind of hit the nail on the head with that one. As useful as it had been, he was growing really fearful of the ancient relic.

However, he did not let those feelings show on his face, and instead smiled, and replied, "I'm glad I could help, and thank you for the praise. I try my best."

She flashed another smile, and he grinned before he continued. "I'm going to head up on deck now and tell Karis and Sveta that I succeeded and that everything's fine… and then I guess talk to Karis. Care to join me, princess?"

He bowed on "princess", and held out his hand to help her off the bed, causing a blush to cover her face. She took his hand, and they exited the room, walking down the hallway toward the stairs. Matthew smiled as they walked; that had gone better than he had expected.

Granted, he hadn't expected Himi to confess she had feelings for Karis, but besides that he had been surprised at how quickly they had bonded. He felt very comfortable around her, and she seemed to be the same around him. Even if his relationship with Karis didn't improve, at least he would have Himi to talk to.

All his positive feeling quickly shifted to bitter thoughts as his mind shifted to Karis. Maybe, just maybe she would be less hostile now that he had done what she asked, and after maybe even more so after he talked with her.

When they came to the top of the stairs and opened the door, they were greeted by Karis and Sveta staring out into the ocean; both wore somewhat solemn faces. However, at the closing of the cabin door, Karis spun around, and her face broke into a smile. "Oh, Himi, Matthew! How are you two doing?"

Himi blushed slightly, and Matthew smiled before responding, "We're doing good. We just talked, and I convinced Himi to be a bit more social. I obviously could give her some advice on the subject, considering how silent I used to be."

Karis's smile grew into a grin, and she replied, "Oh, that's great! I was getting a little worried. We really need to be as unified as possible if we're going to stop the Eclipse…" She trailed off, and her hand began stroking her other arm. Matthew raised an eyebrow; Karis always did that when she was nervous.

"Sveta, would you mind taking Himi to the galley to get some breakfast? She must be hungry," Karis said, her eyes not meeting anyone else's and her lips pursed. Sveta nodded, and turned to do so, but stopped to give Karis a quick hug.

She then walked over to Himi, and, flashing a somewhat awkward smile, began walking with the young Venus adept to the galley, leaving Matthew and Karis alone.

Karis turned back toward the ocean, and broke the silence saying, "That was really nice of you, Matt. She seems a lot happier. I'm glad." Matthew walked over to Karis, and turned to face her.

"I'm gods damned tired of this." The words almost surprised him, and they certainly surprised Karis, who gasped and turned to face him.

Her eyes were alight with confusion, but before she could question him he said, "I'm tired of this tension and I'm tired of the fact that I can't talk to you anymore. I'll sacrifice a relationship for our friendship, but not the other way around. If being with Sveta makes you happy, then I'm behind it, and I mean that. I know I've said it before, and I know that before I was full of crap and trying to get myself to believe what I was saying just as much as I was trying to convince you. So please, can we just be friends?" He sighed, and turned toward the ocean.

"You were right, we need to be united to stop this damn Eclipse, and right now we're not. As nice as it is that Himi is now becoming part of the group, we are the people hindering it the most, but it goes beyond that. I can't stand it, not talking to you. And I don't mean talking about our plans for our quest or chatting about the weather, I mean talking. Like we used to, before this week. And it's shit."

He turned to face her again, tears lightly falling from his eyes. "Even if you don't feel the same way, you're one of the most people in my life. So can we stop whatever this is, and go back to the way things were?"

Karis was silent for several moments, her finger absentmindedly twirling a strand of her green hair. Finally, she spoke, her voice very quiet. "I know. I want to too. As much as I liked being with Sveta, I hate what's happened to us. I guess… oh, I guess I never realized how important you are to me, Matthew. I'm sorry, this is all my damn fault. I just assumed you would be hostile to me and her dating, when in reality I never gave you a chance to be supportive." She reached out, taking his hand. "Can you forgive me?"

Matthew smiled. "I already have." She smiled too, and they shared a tender hug. "I do have a question, though," Matthew said as they broke the embrace. She nodded, imploring him to continue.

"Well… you said 'as much as I liked being with Sveta', and you two seemed more distant just a minute ago. You two… are still together right?" He frowned. "I don't want to push you apart."

Karis sighed, and shook her head. "No, we're not together, but it's not really your fault. Well, it kind of is, but not how you're thinking." Matthew raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Karis giggled.

"Don't worry, I'll explain. Today, Sveta told me that, while she cares deeply for me and has enjoyed being with me, she unsure if her feelings are truly romantic. And, to be honest, I've had my own issues with the relationship, but that's another story. However, she also told me something else. It took a bit of prying, but she seems to have quite the crush on you."

Matthew raised his eyebrows in interest, but then lowered them in guilt. "Karis, I'm sorry. I feel like I sto—"

"Don't even go there, buddy," She said, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. "If anything, I stole her from you in the first place, and now you've got a chance to steal her back."

"Does she know how I feel about her?" He questioned.

"Nope," she responded. "Completely clueless. Terribly awkward with relationships, that one. Only serves to make her that much more adorable, though." She frowned. "I imagine you'll make a move shortly."

Matthew shrugged. "I figure as much. Why do you ask?"

Karis hung her head low, and breathed in deeply. "I ask because I've been thinking it over, and I want to give us a chance."

Matthew's mind exploded. He simply stood there, his lips slightly parted in disbelief, his entire body shut down. This was happening. He was, finally, going to get what he always wanted. Every bone in his body wanted to rush forward and embrace her right then, yet something held him back.

Before he could discern what, she continued. "I'd feel bad about Sveta, as I feel like I would be taking her from you, but, she told me it was alright. And I've thought about it, and if there is any guy I want to be with, it's you."

She turned to face him, and he knew by the look in her eyes that she was serious. This was his chance. She began to lean toward him, and never did time move so slowly in his entire life. A million thoughts rushed through his head, and before he knew it, he was doing the most mind-numbingly dumb thing he could possibly do.

Matthew raised his finger, bringing it to halt Karis's lips as they hung mere inches from his own. "We can't do this." She stared at him in shock, and slight longing crossed her face.

Matthew didn't even want to know how miserable and pathetic his face looked. He had willingly screwed up the thing he had been longing for the most.

"This would hurt Sveta, and even if she said she is okay with us being together, I can't imagine that's true. She really, really liked being you Karis, and… losing one person and then seeing them take someone else you care for off the table as well is a pretty crappy experience. Trust me, I know." He gave her a lighthearted smile, but she did not return it, no doubt feeling guilt for his past week of angst.

"I think this week has been harder for you than I realized as well, and that you're emotions are getting the better of you. Not to mention we're both probably a little screwed up right now, considering we've been uncomfortable around each other, I've been rejected, and you just broke up with what was, as far as I know, your first serious partner."

Karis swallowed, and replied, "Matthew, I understand where you're coming from, but I TRIED to convince Sveta that this wasn't fair, and that if anyone deserved you it was her, but she wouldn't have it. So… if that's all, then—"

"But it's not," He interrupted, his voice somewhat dismayed. "Honestly, if it was only that, and Sveta had said she was fine with it, I would be holding you in my arms right now. When I was talking with Himi, she revealed to me that she, as is a common trend in this party amongst females, likes girls just as much if not more than boys."

He sighed, really wishing he did not have to put himself through this. "She told me she had a crush on someone on board the ship, and since we actually had connected well during out conversation, I thought she was talking about me. However, it turns out the person she has a crush on is you."

He stood in silence and Karis opened her mouth in surprise. "R-really?" She sputtered, and Matthew could already see her mind spinning behind her beautiful violet eyes.

"Yeah," He replied dimly. "I told her that, since at the time I thought you had no feelings for me, if you and Sveta ever broke up, that she should tell you how she felt and that I would be supportive of her efforts. And as much as I hate myself for doing that now, I can't go back on my word, as it would hurt Himi, and just be flat out wrong. She's a really nice girl, and I'd feel terrible if I betrayed her like that."

He paused, trying to bring the raging thoughts in his head to his mouth. Instead, he swore. "Damn it." He turned away, all of a sudden conquered by his rage. Rage at being weak, rage at not doing what he wanted to, rage that this entire mess of a situation existed, rage at—"

"You noble bastard." He turned to see Karis shaking her head in a mix of disgust and… admiration? "I can't believe it. I honestly can't. What have I been passing up? You're one hell of a guy Matthew, I don't know why I didn't say yes sooner. As usual, you're right. We can't do this; at least not right now. You have Sveta to go console, and I…."

She grinned wildly. "Well, I guess I could give a go at Himi. Seems I've got a thing for princesses, huh?" Matthew smiled. She was taking it well. He was ripping himself up on the inside, but he had already been doing that for a month. He could take it. He could — he was ripped from his thoughts as she pulled him in and pressed her lips onto his.

This time, his brain shut the bloody hell up, and he found his arms curved around her back, his nose indulging in her fresh, flowery scent, his entire body tingling from the electricity of her lips. Their tongues met briefly before the kiss, which had lasted at least ten seconds, ended much too quickly.

He nearly fell to his knees, while Karis panted slightly. "Huh. So that's what kissing a boy's like. I could get used to that. Only if it's you though," she whispered, flashing him a warm and seductive smile.

"B-b-but," He stuttered, his body no longer functioning correctly. "I thought we had decided I was going to date Sveta and you were going to date Himi."

"Of course we are," Karis replied. "But eventually, after we stop the Eclipse, they will go back to their countries, while we will be going back to Goma Plateau together. I just wanted to give you a little… taste of what to look forward too."

"But, Karis, what is we fall in love with them while we're da—" Before he could finish, she was already gone. Matthew stood there for a full minute, trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened.

"She is going to be the death of me," He muttered under his breath. "And one hell of a death." He turned to walk toward the galley to fix himself his own lunch, his thoughts still ablaze.

As he turned, he came face to face with Sveta. Before he could say anything, she grabbed his head in her hands, and planted a kiss on his lips. It lasted but a brief moment, and as she quickly jumped back, his fingers traced over his lips. It was different; less like a storm, more like a breeze.

"Matthew?" Sveta began. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so sudden, I'm just awful with confessions and—" She was silenced by his lips (it was about time HE kissed someone unexpectedly, after all), and soon both were entranced in the moment, Matthew feeling the soft love of wind wrap around his entire body.

Yes, there were a lot of loose ends, and he didn't know how he felt about getting in a relationship with one girl while another had basically told him they were going to be dating in the next few months. However, for now, he was willing to chalk it up to the craziness of being a hormone filled teenager, and enjoy the fact that he was kissing a very pretty girl he had thought lost to him this time yesterday.

He pulled back to find a heavily flushed Sveta, and smiled. "So… breakfast?"

"Umm…" She muttered, her fingers now touching her lips. "I guess. But, Matthew… are we… together, then?"

Matthew smiled, and nodded, and she quickly returned the smile, her ears perking up in adorable fashion. "But what happened with Karis?" Sveta questioned hesitantly.

Matthew sighed, and shook his head. "We're all set… it's a long story, I'll tell you after we eat."

"Okay," She replied, still slightly nervous. "So, you two are, friendly again?" Matthew nodded, and Sveta's worry eased. "Good… I'm glad."

"Believe me, I am too," He responded, and offered his hand out to her. With another light blush, she took it, and they began to walk, hand in hand, to the galley.

Matthew smiled; Sveta's hands were very nice to hold. As he decided to compliment her, and said, "Your hands are nice and soft," she simultaneously whispered, "You smell nice."

They looked at each other in surprise, but rather than become embarrassed or turn away, broke into light laughter. As it faded, they stared into each other's eyes, smiling. Finally, both content, they gripped their hands just a little tighter as they came to the galley's door, opened it, and stepped inside.

* * *

><p><em>Yeah. A lot of stuff just happened. This will be quick, because the nap I mentioned in the first note never happened and now I'm rushing to finish this so I can eat and then jet to somewhere I need to go.<em>

_A part of me died with the death of the Zephyr Ship. Ugh. Karis and Sveta are so cute together, why on earth did I have to make them break up? Because that was how I built it. I am so foolish._

_Poor Matthew; he has no luck with women. Accidentally catches Himi naked. I also like how she kind of acted stern when he was trying to weasel out of confronting Karis._

_Speaking of Himi, we actually had some plot development besides teen romance in here in lieu of the Third Eye! It looks like Matthew has a bid decision coming up, but that's pretty far down the line. Glad I got to introduce the Third Eye: it was kind of just spur of the moment, but I feel like it worked._

_Finally, Dawn Shipping. It's odd, I love it so much and wish there was more of it, yet I'm unwilling to give it to even myself. I'm nuts. Well, it obviously almost happened. And don't even THINK the shipping craziness is done. It's just getting started :D . I'm really excited to write the Spirit Shipping though. I go both Dawn and Spirit, as both pairings are adorable._

_Himi/Karis? Is there a name for that? That will be… interesting. This is weird, I feel like I'm reviewing my own fic… ugh, what else._

_Well, hopefully the plot will start to kick into gear a bit more the next few chapters. In regards to criticism, I worry about: the dialogue (there's a lot of it), the pacing (lots of different stuff going on), whether or not the plot is getting too confusing, and as always the characterization._

_Really happy I got this out so quick though. The next chapter might be a little while though, due to finals, which is probably why I wanted to get this out so fast. Hopefully I'll get the next one out on the next week's Friday at the latest, but it's debatable._

_Reviews are always welcome, and thank you for reading!_


	5. The Best Breakfast Ever

Chapter 5: The Best Breakfast Ever

_Another week, another update, more of my ramblings. I have finals? What's a final? Fanfiction is much more important in my long term success. Uh…. Nah, I'm just kidding, I wouldn't be working/posting if I wasn't in a good place academically._

_So, Chapter 5. This one is… interesting. I'm going to tackle WHY it is later, and at first address a very true concern/criticism_

_I want to address a very real criticism Just Some Fellow brought up in his review: yeah, the plot has been very, very much so a lot of romance/humor and a lack of focus on the fact that the Eclipse Eight is tasked with saving the world. The reason for this is three-fold: A, I wanted to establish the characters first. Also, this kind of blew up in my face, as originally everything covered in these four chapters was going to be covered in two, so the main plot should have actually started by now, rather than all the romantic shenanigans…_

_B, when they're sailing in the middle of the ocean, they, well, don't have much world saving to do. They can practice a bit, and the occasional monster attack will occur (and both of those instances will show up), but for the most part it's just them on a ship, waiting to get to their next destination. And judging by the constant poking at how dilapidated their ship is, I wouldn't be surprised if getting places took awhile. I'm hesitantly going to say that in my head canon they can get from one place to another in usually about a week, two weeks when where they're sailing is literally across the map. I'd like it imagine that when they're sailing, they use it as time to cool down from the fate that is on their shoulders._

_Finally, C, I didn't come up with a lot of the plot until recently… :P. This fic, as said before, isn't complete fluffy romance and teen angst. It's just how it starts, for better or worse. The next few chapters are going to be much more action/plot advancement. I swear it._

_That being said, this chapter really… isn't. This chapter is actually pretty ridiculous. Everything here (in the first half, anyway) is layered: I'm setting up a lot of different plot points, which is another reason the plot really doesn't start going in this chapter. I like to introduce the characters first, and in particular how they react with each other, or at least a good deal of that. So, without further adieu, welcome to the best breakfast of all time!_

* * *

><p>Sveta and Himi walked for several silent moments before, still a short distance away from the galley, the beastgirl halted, and the Yamatain became still as well. Before Sveta could begin to speak, Himi asked, "I take it Karis wanted to discuss her and Matthew's recent… unpleasantness?"<p>

Sveta, somewhat surprised at Himi's question, nodded, and replied, "Yes… amongst other things. Did you and Matthew have a good talk? And did he find somewhere to sleep? I only realized this morning that we, well, stole his and Tyrell's room."

"Oh, Tyrell made out just fine, actually," Came Rief's disgruntled voice as he walked by the two girls, his hand cradling his lower back, his usually somewhat-kept hair disheveled and sticking out in small tufts here and there, and his glasses slightly crooked.

"Rief, what happened to you?" Sveta whispered, eyeing the young Mercury Adept up and down with concern.

Rief sighed, and replied, "I really don't want to get into details, but let's just say sleeping on a wooden floor is just as uncomfortable as it sounds, Tyrell is as energetic in his sleep as he is while he's awake, and I have terrible luck when it comes to people I know deciding they're gay."

Sveta winced; after Rief had seemed particularly bitter about her and Karis's relationship, she had decided to talk to him about his reaction. While she was not particularly close to Rief, she liked everyone in the party, and had certainly been concerned over his unhappiness.

Rief had felt bad that it had appeared he did not favor their relationship, and told her that he had no problem with them being together. Then, with a melancholy sigh that had seemed un-natural coming from the usually chipper and mild-mannered Imillian, he had revealed that their coming out of the closet had brought back memories of when his mother had done the same… leading to her divorce with his father when he was only eight.

Sveta, to her credit, had done her best to be understanding, but she had not expected a revelation of such a delicate topic in the slightest. Rief had then gone on to say how much he cared for and loved his mother, and that he just missed having his parents… together.

Sveta could empathize with sadness involving one's parents: she still had not fully overcome the loss of her mother and father. She had related this to Rief, but had left out the exact nature of their deaths. It had been hard enough to stare at her dead father; it was Morgal tradition for all funerals to be held open casket, and she had desperately wished that tradition would have been voided for her father's poor, mutilated corpse. She had barely been able to recognize his face.

It had been harder to watch her mother get cut down in front of her. She had gulped and pushed both of those thoughts aside, telling Rief she understood, and would be willing to discuss such matters with him if he ever so desired to. He had smiled, and told her that her offer meant a lot to him.

Sveta liked Rief: he was very polite, often put others before himself, and was invaluable as the party's main healer and could spew out useful information that was approaching near-Kraden like levels.

She had instantly become worried as he had begun to vent about Tyrell, and her worst fears were confirmed when he finished by saying, "Oh, yeah, and two words: morning wood. At least he kept his pants on, thank Mercury."

Sveta bowed her head, and whispered, "I am sorry that our actions led to such an experience. I take it Tyrell has…?"

"Yep, he's giving other guys a test run," Rief grumbled. "Which I wouldn't mind in the slightest, if I believed for one second he was actually gay and not just, pardon the pun, dicking around."

He smiled at this, a smile which Sveta matched while Himi giggled at his remark. Rief then said, "It's not that bad. It's just still a bit of a sore spot for me, I guess. No need to apologize, by the way: not your fault in the slightest. Anyway, I'm going to go eat. I'll probably be less crabby once I get some food in my stomach."

"I hope you feel better… we shall join you shortly, I just need to talk with Himi for a moment," Sveta replied, and Rief nodded before continuing his walk and, upon reaching the stairs leading to the galley and its door, descended them.

"That was odd…" Himi muttered, before turning her attention back to Sveta, and saying, "Yes, Matthew is a most understanding and gracious young man. We discussed his relationship with Karis, and were actually going to look for her so he could iron a few things out. Do not worry about him finding rest: he slept in our room, in Karis's bed." Himi frowned as she realized she shouldn't have revealed that, but Sveta eased her concerns with a laugh.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. That lovesick boy…" She trailed off, and sighed.

"You, um, said that they were going to talk about other things as well, correct?" Himi questioned. "What exactly would those be?"

Sveta gulped, and replied slowly, "Well… truth be told, Karis and I have broken up."

Himi gasped slightly, but caught herself, and whispered, "Oh… I see. I'm sorry to hear that."

Sveta nodded sadly. "It was a difficult decision to make, but it needed to be made. You see, Karis thought she was coming in between Matthew and I, but after discussing it with her, I realized the opposite was true."

"Wait…" Himi replied. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Karis actually does have feelings for Matthew," Sveta responded. "That is why I decided we had to part; I felt as if I was standing between her and Matthew. Her, as she felt guilty for never giving him a chance and how downtrodden he has been, and him because, it is clear to I and everyone on this ship how greatly he cares for her."

"O-oh," Himi replied, lowering her head.

"…Is everything all right, Himi?" Sveta asked gently.

Himi flinched visibly, and then, catching herself, breathed in deeply. "Yes. Everything is fine. I'm happy for Matthew – he deserves to be with Karis. It should lighten his heart." She meant what she said, no matter how much conflict swelled within her. Matthew had known Karis for a very long time, and had tried very much so to win her heart, and in all honesty he did deserve her. Yet, she could not help but feel bitter, but she would not blame Matthew for doing what he had dreamed of: holding Karis in his arms.

"Okay…" Sveta said, still unsure as to why Himi's demeanor had changed so suddenly. "If you ever wish to discuss anything, I would be more than happy to." Himi perked her head up, her red eyes meeting Sveta's greens.

Slowly, a small smile formed on her lips. "Thank you, Sveta. I may take you up on that offer… my mind is slightly in turmoil." Before Sveta could respond to this, she turned at the sound of fleet footsteps to see Karis, a pumpkin grin spread across her face, racing towards both of them.

When the green-haired girl reached them, she smiled at Sveta, then turned to Himi and gave her a look of… seduction. Sveta raised an eyebrow. What on earth was going on? She knew that look on Karis's face… it was the one she wore whenever she was very excited about something. Before she could wonder any further, Karis grabbed her, and began speaking very quickly into her ear.

"Matthew and I are going to wait till after we return to Goma Plateau to start a relationship. We would have now, but it turns out Himi has feelings for me, and Matthew is unwilling to betray her trust, as he promised to support her in her efforts if you and I ever broke up, and he and I both feel bad regarding you. So, I am going to happily continue my lesbian conquests—" Karis spared a moment to whip her head away from Sveta and wink at Himi –"and you and Matthew can be together."

Sveta mouth fell open in surprise, but as she attempted to form a reply to all the information, Karis grabbed her by the shoulders, and began to push her toward the side of the deck Matthew had been on. As Sveta sputtered incoherent speech and wondered what was going on, Karis said, "Come on, what are you waiting for? Matthew's just waiting there, go and get him!"

With one final push, Sveta, after turning back to look at Karis with a look of complete uncertainty and confusion, finally heaved a long sigh, and began to walk in the direction Karis had indicated.

Karis, rubbing her hands together at how fantastic this was all turning out, then turned towards Himi, and smiled. She had been slightly worried about the shift back to dating a boy, as much as she now realized she wanted to be with Matthew, and was somewhat relieved she had a bit more time to explore her own, as well as Himi's, feminine side, so to speak.

Himi responded with a glance of confusion, and suddenly Karis realized that the young girl must be very curious as to what was going on. "H-How did your talk with Matthew go?" Himi asked with a slight stutter. Karis noticed with a smile that the Venus Adept wasn't meeting her eyes.

"It was… interesting. I don't know how much Sveta told you, but long story short I revealed to Matthew that I do actually have feelings for him, and then we discussed exactly what that meant," Karis replied, the smile not waning off of her face. She was very good at multi-tasking, and had no problem glancing over Himi's body while she talked to her.

Of course Karis had thought about the young girl in a romantic way, as she could tell that Himi, despite their limited interactions, was a very nice person, and she certainly was very pretty, but she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. She hadn't really had anyone to mention it to: talking to Sveta about it had been out of the question, and that had been back when she was more or less giving Matthew the silent treatment.

Karis thought her foreign clothing was very fashionable and cute, especially her sandals; so much so that Karis thought she might like a pair for hersel. Himi was still maturing, but she had a very nice figure, and a pleasant face. Her red eyes might take some getting used to, but as she had green hair, Karis was more than willing to overlook odd colorings. Finally, Karis thought her hair-styling looked adorable.

The issue here was that she still had not gotten to talk to Himi very much at all, and was unfamiliar with her personality. Karis knew that she was nice, but still, she wanted to get to know her better. No reason that couldn't happen while they were in a relationship, though.

"Soooo," Karis continued, "I eventually asked him if he wanted to be in a relationship with me. Sadly, he said no, reason being that he didn't want to betray Sveta. But, that wasn't the only reason."

Himi blushed slightly. "H-He, um, did he…?"

"Yes, he did Himi," Karis said brightly. "He told me you have a crush on me, and said that he couldn't date me for that reason. So, hopefully, now he and Sveta will get to be together, and I'd like it if we could be too."

"R-really?" Himi exclaimed. "I mean… we haven't exactly talked that much. I wasn't sure if you liked me or not…"

"Well, truth be told, I don't know you that well, but I'd like to change that," Karis replied. "But I certainly do like you. I understand that being with someone when you are just getting to know them can be… awkward, so we'll hold back on the romance for a little bit."

Himi smiled. "I would like that." Karis, at these words, tentatively reached out her hand, which Himi grasped firmly. "Shall we get some breakfast?" The young Venus Adept asked, and at Karis's nod, they walked down the stairs and opened the door.

* * *

><p>Rief walked into the galley to find Eoleo manning the stove, a pan in his hand. "Oi! Someone rolled out of their bed this morning!" Eoleo said with a chuckle upon seeing Rief's slightly messy apparel and hair.<p>

"I don't want to talk about it," Rief responded flatly, and Eoleo, despite a wide grin, pushed the topic no further. "What are you making?" The Mercury Adept asked, walking toward the stove and taking a whiff of its contents, before wrinkling his nose. "Ugh… and why does it smell so bad?"

"I be making some meat: nothing fancy," Eoleo remarked. "I'm not the world's greatest cook, and I usually prefer to let one of the ladies, either Miss Sveta or Miss Karis, prepare our meals, or you. The Ayuthay's never cooked in his life, and if he didn't possess water Psynergy he may have burnt the whole vessel down when he tried to cook eggs last week. Matthew just doesn't have it in him, and Himi is in the same boat as Amiti. People have cooked for them their entire lives. Karis knows her way around food, and despite me fearin' Sveta would try to serve us all a bunch o' raw meat, she can cook. And you are a mighty fine chef yourself: probably got it from yer angel of a mother."

"You know my Mom?" Rief asked, dropping the subject of breakfast, as he was surprised to hear the pirate mentioning her.

"Aye," Eoleo responded, a dreamy smile crossing his face. "Aye, I've been given that pleasure in my life."

"Uh… so, how exactly did you meet her?" Rief questioned, really not liking the look on Eoleo's face.

The pirate's face reverted to its usual hard texture, and he replied, "My crew and I were sailing when we ran into a rough patch with a storm, and were forced north. Long story short, those waters are filled with icebergs and massive chunks of ice, so we took quite a pounding trying to get to shore. Once we did, we were, obviously, slightly wary when we saw a town nearby, recognizing it as Imil due to the Lighouse: we're pirates, after all. Most people treat us like dirt."

"Well… I mean… you do steal from people…" Rief supplied hesitantly. He didn't like bringing up the fact that Eoleo and all his men were highly amoral. Firstly because it then reminded him he had more or less rescued him, and secondly because the last thing he wanted to do was get on the bad-side of a crew of pirates, no matter how friendly they had been in their month of sailing.

Rief swallowed as Eoleo gave him a long, hard look, and nearly jumped out of his robe when the red-headed privateer burst out laughing and slapped him hard but playfully on the back.

"Ah, I guess ye got me there…" Eoleo said with a smile as Rief silently cringed at the bruise Eoleo had just unknowingly caused, and then began to silently administer Ply's. "Still, we do only do it because, you know, we have to. I've been doing some thinking about that though, actually," Eoleo said with a slight frown.

"Champa can't go on in its current form. My father, bless his soul, did whatever it took to keep us afloat. But I don't want to be afloat – I want to be sailing majestically on a gusting breeze! After we stop this damned Eclipse, and I avenge me old man, I'm going to repay all the nations we've plundered from, and build Champa for the future. Piracy will be a thing of the past, but of course we'll still get drunk out of our minds on rum and act all piratey. We'll just cut out the, er, plunderin'."

Rief raised his eyebrows in surprise, and said, "Wow, Eoleo, that's pretty impressive. You seem to have put a lot of thought into this… but, no offense, I'm not sure there's much, er, binding you to that, if you get my drift."

"Argh," The pirate replied with an understanding nod. "Ye need not be worried about professing your disdain for my past activities, Rief. I understand yer points. It only bothers me when someone such as Amiti starts accusing me of being a criminal, as he was brought up with everyone waiting on him left and right. He doesn't understand what it's like, everyone against you, including nature itself. Anyway, before I get lost down that route, as I have been known to do, the binding you seek is a promise I made to your mother, Mia. Most of it was her idea, really."

"Oh?" Rief asked, his intrigue once again rising. "So, you met her after your ship crashed?"

"Aye," Eoleo muttered, flipping the meat in the pan once more. "I was worried: people don't react well to us, and we were ragged and exhausted from the storm. The last thing I wanted was to get into a fight with some law enforcement or what-not. So, I was quite surprised when this being of white with blue flying behind them made their way to us. Eventually, as they got nearer, we realized it be a woman – this might be hard for ye, Rief, and this is why I haven't brought our meeting up before, but I believe in telling the truth, so here it is. I fell in love with her at first sight."

Rief who had been getting out a few plates for breakfast from a cupboard, nearly dropped them, and sputtered out, "Y-You what!

Eoleo nodded, and with a solemn face, continued, "I've never really put much weight in settling down; I of course fancied lasses, but never enough to want to make one my own. But Lady Mia, oh, here I thought I was a pirate, and yet she stole my heart in mere moments. I remember when she descended down the hill to us: she raised her staff in the air, and suddenly the ice we had run into fissured and cracked, allowing us to pull in closer. I, bein' the cap'n, was the first off the ship. Every step I took convinced me further that the woman in front of me was an angel. Her skin and face, even in the harsh, icy wind, was so fair, and her eyes…"

Eoleo trailed off with a sniffle, and Rief resisted the urge to gag. This couldn't be happening. He was hallucinating. He had to be.

And yet, as he thought this to himself, the pirate regained control of himself, and said, "I fell in love with her at first sight. She offered us stay as long as we promised no thievin'. I asked her for her name, as a matter of courtesy. Mia. What a beautiful name for an angel. You must know, as she is your mother, how kind and radiant of a person she be. I spent a week there, in that tiny village, freezing me everything off, trying to convince her to come with me, or to let me be her man. At first, I was subtle, at least as subtle as a pirate and a Mars Adept no less could be. She told me she was divorced, and had two children that were off exploring the world, and that if I came across them to be sure to pass her greetings.

"It was after a few days that I told her how I felt. She was very bashful about the whole thing, blushing heavily: I may or may not have attempted to serenade her with a poem, and perhaps a song as well."

"Sweet Mercury," Rief whispered under his breath. Watching someone he had been legitimately frightened of for a few weeks turn into a lovesick puppy over his mother of all people was… hard to stomach.

"Aye, sweet Mercury indeed," Eoleo crooned, the meat starting to burn as he became lost in his thoughts.

Rief took the liberty of flipping it for him as he began again, "She told me, sadly, that she did not feel the same way. I told her I would wait until the end of time, but still, she turned me away, saying that I was quite the sweet-heart, and would find my girl eventually. Her points were true: I was too young for her, she was cursed to outlive everyone she knew, it would be hard, because of how different our cultures were. And, as sweet as she found me, I could tell she did not feel the same. Pity, that. I will love her till the day I die."

Rief shrugged. As weird as this was, at least it was better than snuggling with Tyrell. And it could have been worse: she could have said yes and married him. Well… it wasn't that he didn't like Eoleo. In fact, despite having heard him gush about how deeply in love with his mother he was, this whole talk had made him a bit fonder of the pirate. But he really could not imagine Eoleo as his step-father. That would be awkward beyond belief.

"Eoleo," Rief started, and the Mars Adept turned to face him with an inquisitive look. "Don't beat yourself up about not winning her over… she kind of… plays for the other team. Like Karis and, er, Sveta I guess. That's why she divorced my Dad. There's pretty much no way you could have won her over."

Eoleo gasped in surprise, and rubbed his beard in thought. "Ah, that makes more sense! Thank ye for telling me Rief. To be perfectly honest, I had been fearful that my ability to make the ladies swoon had faded, but this means I just didn't have a chance to begin with. Pity, though. I was going to go back and try again after our quest. Truly a goddess, truly an angel. You be a lucky man, Rief. I love me Mum, but Mia possesses grace Mercury herself would be jealous of. I'm sorry this had to come out, but I figured you should know."

"No, it's fine," Rief muttered, shaking his head. "Let's just… change the topic. It's hard for to think of her, is all. I… well, I miss her. And I know she can take care of the monsters of the Grave Eclipse, but…"

"Here me now, Rief," Eoleo interrupted, standing tall and firm. "I will bring you back to her, no matter the cost to meself. I guarantee it."

Rief smiled, and nodded. "Thank you, Eoleo. My mother would be proud of you."

Eoleo grinned, and blushing slightly, whispered, "Proud enough for a quick peck on the cheek?"

"Err… ah… the meat's burning!" Rief exclaimed after hastily trying to switch the topic.

"Argh! Damn rum!" Eoleo exclaimed, flipping the meat again, and sighing at how charred some of it had turned.

"…Rum?" Rief started, and then something clicked in his mind. "Wait! You mean to tell me you're cooking that meat in… rum?

"Aye," Eoleo muttered, taking the pan now off the stove and setting it on the counter. "We be out of oil, and when that happens, we cook with rum."

"So that's what the smell was…" Rief remarked dryly. Suddenly he wasn't very hungry. "I thought we had a good amount of oil last night. What happened to it?"

Eoleo scowled, and grumbled, "Tyrell woke up early this morning and tried to cook something up. Only one problem with that: he don't know how to cook! Actually, it was fairly disturbing besides the clouds of smoke and terrible, terrible odor. He was wearin' an apron."

"…So?" Rief questioned. "I mean… that's not that—"

"Allow me to expand," Eoleo interrupted, as he cut the meat into chunks and began to place it on the plates with small rolls. "That be ALL he was wearing."

Rief couldn't help but smack his forehead as he realized exactly what had happened as Eoleo continued, "The buffoon asked me to come help him cook, and said he knew I came into the kitchen early, and had dressed up real special and was trying to cook me a feast."

"Oh Gods help us all…" Rief muttered, shaking his head. "H-He got me to. Snuck into my room last night and… uh… snuggled with me. Thankfully with clothes on. What did you do?"

"I lit his bloody arse on fire," Eoleo growled. "Because I thought he was simply bein' a fool. But, based on what ye be tellin' me, sounds like he's actually trying out the male sex."

"Eoleo, I'm afraid," Rief said, rubbing his head. "This can only end badly. What if someone else had walked in, like, Gods forbid, Himi?"

"Don't worry about him bein' in the nude, Rief," Eoleo said, getting out silverware. "I made it clear that if I ever saw him indecent again I'd light the front end of him on fire. I can't really stop him from being gay though. Not like I would for… eh… well, to be honest, the whole thing makes me a little uncomfortable."

"Men liking men?" Rief supplied, taking his seat at the table.

"No… just liking the same sex in general," Eoleo replied, pulling in next to him. The table had nine seats, four on each side, and then one at one of the ends for Kraden.

"It don't sit right with me. I know I made a good deal of noise when we caught Miss Karis and Miss Sveta lockin' lips on the deck, but I feel… off about it. It be there business though. I will not interfere. And as much as Mia's decision pains me, if she is of that kind, then there must be some good in it."

Rief carefully looked around, and then whispered, "Don't feel bad, Eoleo. I'm still trying to get used to it as well, and I think we both know the same holds true for poor Matthew."

Before Eoleo could respond, the door opened, and a slightly blushing Himi followed by a very gleeful Karis walked in… holding hands. Rief and Eoleo shared a raised eyebrow, only causing Himi's blush to deepen.

"Alright, look," Eoleo grunted, standing up and pointing at the two girls. "I'm staying out of your lesbitwatsitism, but I will not have polygamy on my ship. I don't care if ye fancy the furry one or pig tails here equally, make your damn choice and live with it."

Rief tried to maintain a straight face, as laughing at anything Eoleo had said would mean a lengthy term on Karis's bad list, which, after viewing Tyrell's extensive and miserable time in said bad list, wasn't somewhere he wanted to end up. However, he lost it at "pig tails" and snorted, quickly covering his face up with his arm afterwards to mimic a sneeze.

Karis's eyes narrowed at the Mercury Adept's outburst, but she let it slide. Instead, she walked right up to Eoleo, jabbing her finger in his chest, and shouted, "Who do you think you are! Accusing me and Himi of something like that! I'll have you know that Sveta and I are no longer together and—"

"Oh, then I have no complaints, and ye can stop yellin' in me face," Eoleo interjected calmly, and without another word, began to eat. Karis's face was one of shock for a brief moment, before it started to fume once more with rage.

As the door opened, and Matthew and Sveta (holding hands, a still smirking Rief noted) walked in, Karis opened her mouth to begin another rant, but was silenced by Himi stepping in front of her, and then raising her hand into the air gracefully. With a swift motion, she drove the back of her small hand square into Eoleo's cheek, causing him to nearly spit out the contents of his mouth.

More or less everyone in the party gasped. Matthew raised an eyebrow. What on earth was going on?

"I-wha-you," Eoleo sputtered, rubbing the red mark now visible on his tan face.

"Apologize," Himi stated coldly. "Or I shall fetch my staff and beat you senseless."

"For-for what?" Eoleo exclaimed.

"For degrading all three of us with your unfounded accusation, then degrading Sveta and I by referring to us derogatorily, and finally by being rude to Karis. I trust you were simply being lighthearted, but I for one am deeply offended," Himi replied.

Eoleo, still rubbing his face, stood up to his full height, and glared down at the thin girl: he was nearly twice her height, and who knows how many times her size. For a moment his face was full of anger, and it looked like he was either going to blow up the entire kitchen with a Serpent Fume or simply knock Himi through the wall, which judging by his muscles, he probably could do quite easily. Karis noticed this and, fearing for Himi's safety and not trusting the pirate's tempter, tried to move in between the two.

By the time she started to, however, Eoleo had already gone into motion… lifting Himi up in his arms, and squeezing her against his body in a tight hug. Karis simply froze with her arm outstretched, entirely confused as to what was happening.

"Argh! This is one after me own heart! Who would have thought this little frail princess had a raging pirate king squeezed into her delicate form! And that slap! My cheek stings greater than when Oaba would catch me running around her forge… granted, those were my lower cheeks she was slapping, but still: hell of an arm for a century old lady."

Himi, her face entirely flushed and her eyes wide with surprise, peaked out from Eoleo's shoulder, her eyes finding Matthew. She lip-synched "Help me!" but after another moment she was surprised to find herself back on the ground.

Before she could respond, Eoleo's hand was rubbing her head, and despite the somewhat unpleasant feeling of his rough skin and calluses, not to mention that he was messing up the hair it took her so long to do, she found the sensation surprisingly nice.

"Ah, I give me full and heartfelt apologies," Eoleo said with a wide grin, removing his hand from Himi's head. "Oaba would have thrown me in the damn forge is she heard some of that dreadful bile spewin' from me mouth. I need to work on my manners around you ladies. This sea-dog humbly apologizes, and offers breakfast, albeit slightly burned, as a peace offering."

"Apology accepted," Karis muttered, shaking her head.

"I accept it as well," Himi said, shifting uneasily. "And… could you… ask next time before you pick me up?"

"Aye, I'll give ye a warning sign in the future," Eoleo replied with a grin. "Truth be told, I hadn't expected you to be so light, and nearly tossed you into the ceiling. That would have been quite the miscue…"

Himi's eyes widened, and Rief stifled another laugh. Eoleo turned to Sveta, and asked, "And you, Sveta? Do I have your forgiveness?"

"Um… I guess, as long as you don't pick me up… I'm still not quite sure what you did that warrants an apology, to be honest," Sveta said hesitantly, hiding slightly behind Matthew.

Himi, glancing over to the beastgirl, answered, "He referred to you as 'the furry one'."

Sveta's ear drooped low. "Oh…" She trailed off. "Well, I suppose I will accept it, Eoleo, because I do not want to harbor feelings of anger or disrupt the party. I know you may… detest some of my race, but I would prefer you judge me for who I am, not my features."

"He damn well better," Karis hissed, and Sveta smiled; the green-haired girl never failed to stand up for her. Their eyes met warmly, before they dimly realized that they were no longer together, and their gaze broke, both wearing bittersweet expressions. Matthew rubbed Sveta's back gently, and she smiled slightly. Karis sighed, looking to Himi, who gave her a cheery smile, which the Jupiter Adept tried to return.

"I will: I promise," Eoleo said, a small smile forming as he glanced at the awkward love-square that had formed in the party. "I hold no ill will to the beastmen as a whole, besides Volchek." Sveta's ears drooped again at the mention of her brother, and Matthew gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"I will not deny that the overall race has left a bittersweet taste in my mouth; piracy may be wrong, but it is nowhere near as barbaric as boiling someone alive. But, that was only a few beastmen, and I know you worked tirelessly to free me. I apologize Sveta. Will you forgive me?" Eoleo asked, walking over to her, and extending a hand.

Sveta stared at it, and whispered, her tone suddenly harsh, "I will not shake your hand until you promise to drop your vendetta against my brother. And do not lie. I can read your spirit."

There was an uneasy silence after Sveta's demand: it was rare for her to raise her voice, and rarer still for her to sound anything but respectful and generally positive. Matthew considered stepping in as the rest of the party exchanged glances or stared at the beastgirl and pirate, wondering what his response would be. Eoleo simply bore his gaze straight at Sveta, his expression neutral. Finally, after what felt like an hour, he spoke.

"If I had not been held by him," Eoleo began, "me father would have never come to my aid. He never would have died. I will resent him for the rest of my life for that reason. However, as you have aided me, and as he is your brother, I will never act upon it. That is the best I can offer you."

Sveta nodded, and slowly took Eoleo's hand, saying, "You met my brother when he was at his worst. When he clung to his throne foolishly, and became more of a tyrant than the warm, caring man I knew before our parents were slaughtered at the hands of Sana. I wish you hadn't received that displeasure, and that I could have gotten through to him before he..."

"I suppose I the next time we meet him, he can prove to me he has a better side than what I have seen," Eoleo said, and Sveta nodded, tears slowly starting to well in her eyes.

The Pirate, well aware of what it felt like to lose a loved one to the evil shadow they had unknowingly released upon the world, crouched down and gently rubbed her head in a comforting fashion, saying, "He is alive, Sveta. I know it. I've heard stories about Volchek. He won't go down without a fight, and he will defend his city till his dying breath. We'll fix the Eclipse, and then we can meet him together."

"Okay," Sveta piped out quickly, clearing her throat, and wrapping her hand in Matthew's, squeezing tightly.

"In that case, I think we should eat before the food gets cold," Eoleo stated, wisely changing the topic, and taking his place at the table once more. The rest followed suit: Himi sat next to Eoleo, while Karis sat next to Himi, and they left a spot open for either Tyrell or Amiti.

Rief sat across from Eoleo, with Matthew sitting next to him and Sveta next to Matthew, leaving a spot open next to her as well. On cue, Amiti emerged from the galley door, taking the seat next to Sveta, while Tyrell appeared shortly afterwards, standing near the vacant seat.

By then, everyone was well into their meal, and chatting casually. Sveta had regained her generally cheery demeanor, and for the first time in a few weeks, the party felt very comfortable and natural around each other.

The meat was very… charred, as well as odd tasting (due to the rum, as only Rief and Eoleo knew), so a few members of the party were hesitantly eating it, while Amiti, having vowed to never eat a animal again after he had witnessed the whole process of preparing one as food in his first week in the party, ate a small salad.

Out of respect, no one brought up the taste, as they had all had to deal with a day (or week) of bad eating when they had still been on land and only able to find foliage or very hard nuts for food.

As Tyrell lifted his plate off the table, and began to shovel the food into his mouth, Karis raised an eyebrow and asked, "Er, Tyrell, want to fit in with the rest of society and sit down? Or are you worried I'm still angry from last night? I over-reacted a little, you don't have anything to fear."

"Ohmo, Fariph, ipf mop vat," Tyrell said through his chewing, causing Karis to wince and reminding her why she had tried out girls in the first place. He swallowed a great gulp, and after a quick breath, said in actual English, "It's not that at all, I just… uh… have some problems with sitting right now."

"…Do I want to know?" Karis asked with a smirk.

"It involves me wearing nothing else but an apron, so probably not," Tyrell replied, sparing a second of his race to finish before everyone else, despite being the last to start eating, to examine his very burnt behind. A quick poke let him know that it was still very much so in pain.

"Oh, Tyrell," Karis laughed. "Maybe later, right now I'll let my imagination come up with its own ideas." Tyrell smiled. Karis was acting truly happy for the first time in a few weeks. Not the fake-happy she would often show off to hide from people that she was having problems, but true happiness. He was glad: he had been worried about her, and had nearly tried to bring it up, which he imagined could have only ended badly.

Karis turned her attention to Himi as Tyrell began to devour his food once more. The young Venus Adept was talking to Eoleo about her lifestyle in Yamata. "In reality, being royalty in Yamata is, thankfully, very rewarding. My father, Susa, is very involved in our community, training our soldiers, going out on hunts, and even helping young men who are troubled or who have no father. Similarly, my mother, Kushinada, has become out town's priestess, and is very spiritually knowledgeable. To be honest, the Third Eye most likely chose me because I share her sense of spirituality; in some cases though mine is even greater."

Eoleo was doing a good job of listening; he had decided to give the Yamatain his full attention after she had stood up to him so fiercely. Still, he could not keep his mind off of how badly he had cooked the meat.

Karis slowly reached her hand toward Himi's pigtail, and, grasping in gently, slowly started to rotate it. Eoleo noticed after a few moments, and began working very hard to not burst into laughter, causing Himi to give him a confused look, until she turned and realized what Karis was doing, at which point she smiled lightly. _So this is what is feels like to have friends,_ she thought with glee. It was a nice feeling.

Rief, who had started eating first along with Eoleo, felt slightly queasy. He figured it was just the taste of the rum: it couldn't be alcohol, as it would have evaporated out when the rum was boiled. Regardless, after a few minutes, he excused himself and went off to his room to fall relax and perhaps take a nap.

Amiti, meanwhile, was having a very pleasant chat with Tyrell about the Mars Adept's new ambition to find a boyfriend. "I really don't know if I like guys," Tyrell said, licking some of the grease off of his plate, "but I figured, hell, if Karis can try it out, so can I! Besides, there are things about women that absolutely drive me nuts."

"And what would those be, pray tell?" Karis hissed, glaring at him.

Tyrell, thinking quickly on his feet (which wasn't too much of an accomplishment, as he was the only person standing), replied sweetly, "All the things that you aren't or don't do." He poked her nose for good measure, and Karis blushed, causing Himi to giggle and Amiti to chuckle.

"I respect your choice, Tyrell," the Ayuthayan prince responded. "You might want to try to be a bit more subtle, though."

"Hmmm, subtle, right," Tyrell repeated with a nod, though in the back of his mind he was trying to remember exactly what subtle meant. He smiled when he remembered (incorrectly) it meaning to try even harder, and go all out.

Amiti nodded, but grew slightly worried at Tyrell's slightly over-enthusiastic smile. "Er, are you sure you know what that means…?" Amiti questioned as Tyrell became lost in thought, trying to plan out his next move.

He glanced over across the table diagonally to see Matthew watching Sveta eat, a dopy grin plastered on his face. The beastgirl seemed not to notice, Tyrell realized, and suddenly an idea popped into his head.

As the Mars Adept began to formulate his plan, Matthew tentatively reached out his hand, bringing it near Sveta's ears. He had to admit: he didn't know how he would feel about being with Sveta instead of Karis, and while it had only been a little while, not even an hour, they seemed to have very good chemistry. He really enjoyed being around her.

He bit his lip: she was eating, but he couldn't imagine she would mind too much, and he was really interested in her ears. So, with a shrug, he brought his hand down and started rubbing.

Sveta felt her back tighten as fingers began to rub along her ears. "Ahhhhhh," She panted. The feeling was heavenly, and in between the pleasure she realized it was Matthew doing it. She tried to gasp out his name to tell him to stop, but it wouldn't come to her; she began to slump in her seat as she drowned in his ear-rub.

Matthew didn't even notice: he had his eyes closed, and was simply enjoying the soft touch of Sveta's fur. He slowly opened his eye-lids, and, turning to Sveta, whispered, "Oh, Sveta your ears are so soft… Sveta?"

"D-don't, stop," She breathed, leaning up against him and deeply inhaling his scent, causing her to only descend further out of rational thought.

"Ah, okay!" Matthew replied, wondering what the bloody hell was going on, but not worrying enough to question it.

Eoleo gritted his teeth as he watched this spectacle: eargasms were not to be had at the table on his ship. Oh, hell, he had done worse at this – ON this – table. And he couldn't deny it was kind of adorable.

Karis's attention shifted slowly over to Matthew and Sveta, as she narrowed her eyes when she realized what was going on. How dare he touch her ears! That was their special!… no, they were no longer together. Karis felt a pang of regret, but pushed it from her mind. That she could deal with, but why on hell was Matthew doing it to her at the table! Oh… oh Gods, what if he didn't know she had those kinds of feelings in her ears?

"Looks like they're – hic – having fun," Himi remarked as she chewed on another bite of steak, swaying slightly in her seat, and grinning somewhat dumbly. Karis gave her a confused look, as the young girl was acting very oddly, and more over had eaten a great deal of meat and was still going. Eoleo slowly noticed Himi's condition, and gulped.

"Argh… she had a lot of that meat. Probably should have thought about this before using the rum as oil…" Eoleo whispered to himself, but Karis overheard him, and promptly spit out her mouthful.

"The hell Eoleo! This meat tastes this bad because you used rum as oil? And why is she drunk!" She said quietly but with great emphasis. "How does that even happen? If you boiled it, the alcohol should have evaporated!"

"...Aye," Eoleo replied with a nod. "The thing is, this a special brew of rum: it's kind of, er, imbued with Mars Psynergy as to increase the taste/potency, so I think that it might be… uh… fireproof."

"You mean she's drunk!" Karis hissed under her breath, pointing at Himi who was now giggling profusely.

"Er, yeah," Eoleo said with a shrug. "Don't worry. It fades faster too. But, she might feel lightheaded for a bit. Ye might want to keep an eye out for her."

"H-Hey, Eoleo," Himi started, turning to face him and, in the process, nearly falling over. "G-Guess what?"

"Uh, what?" The pirate asked nervously.

"TURTLES!" Himi shouted, throwing both hands in the air, before burping loudly and falling backwards as a result. Eoleo barely caught her, and as he sat her back down noticed Karis glaring daggers at him.

"Okay, okay, you have a valid point," Eoleo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I really did not think this through."

"You THINK!" Karis nearly shouted, glancing with worry at the still swaying Himi, and then back at Sveta across the table, who was beginning to cover her own garments and Matthew's in thick drool. She needed to do something to stop them before – Jupiter forbid – he sent her over the edge and—

"Karis!" Himi exclaimed, leaning toward and suddenly tightly embracing the Jupiter Adept.

"Later do you want to – hic – kiss?" Himi asked with a seductively drunk grin, causing Karis to start to stutter and blush. Before she could respond, Himi said, "Let's have a staring contest! GO!" and then closed her two eyes. Karis winced at the spectacle before her, before Himi peaked one open and pointed to the Third Eye, giggling and saying, "HA! I can't lose! Get it? Because the Third Eye never closes, it never clos—" And with a smack Himi then landed in the very meat that had turned her into a drunken laugh-riot, out cold.

Karis at this point was so pissed she could have FRIED Eoleo with lightning, but before she could a piece of bread hit her face, and, understandably displeased, she turned to see who had thrown it. Her eyes quickly located Matthew frantically waving at her, mouthing "Please for the love of Venus help me", and pointing to Sveta.

Karis gasped: Sveta had ripped half of Matthew's shirt off with her teeth, and was now licking his chest as she held his hand in place along her ear, and held the rest of his body still with her other arm. She was muttering under her breath something along the lines of, "I can't wait –hic— till the full moon…"

"Huh," Eoleo said, and Karis turned to his once more: he had taken Himi and slung her across his shoulder, no doubt to remove her from the room, or at the very least to keep her from drowning in the rum.

"Yes?" Karis questioned edgily, and he winced: it was usually Tyrell who got on her bad-side, not him.

"Well… I might have heard somewhere that Beastmen are real, real lightweights, which might explain why it looks like Sveta's about to rip off Matthew's clothes and show us what a Morgal mating ritual looks like." The pirate finished with a shrug. He probably should feel guilty, but hell, he had been doing illegal things all his life. What did a serving-alcohol-to-minors-via-steak charge have on over one hundred counts of larceny?

"Yeah, I don't think so," Karis muttered, turning toward Sveta and quickly casting sleep.

"Oops! Dropped a fork under the table!" Tyrell shouted, and dove under the table to look for it.

Karis ignored him, and after a few moments, successfully had lulled the drunken beastgirl to sleep. Matthew sighed: that had almost gone WAY too far. Suddenly, he felt something poking around on his leg. "Ugh, Karis, I think she's still awake," Matthew said, until he noticed both of Sveta's hands were visible above the table. "The hell…"

Matthew spread his legs and peered down, only to be greeted by a lot of red hair and Tyrell's best seductive face. "Can I take over where she left off?" He asked, then hiccupped.

Matthew groaned: even if Tyrell had the biggest body next to Eoleo, he ate just about as much as all of them combined, so he was utterly wasted. Matthew felt somewhat bad, as he raised his fist, for what he was about to do, but it had to be done. "Night Tyrell," he said as he drove his fist headlong into Tyrell's forehead, knocking him back under the table and completely unconscious.

"And here I thought things might be getting back to normal," Karis muttered dryly, as she realized nearly half of their party was now incapacitated.

"You are a really pissy drunk," Eoleo remarked with a yawn, earning a very angry glare from the Jupiter Adept.

Before she could respond, Amiti voiced from across the table, "I'm going to take Tyrell to his room, Karis, would you care to help me?"

"Er, yeah!" She responded, and then turned to Eoleo and growling, "I am NOT drunk." She then quickly disproved this assertion as she stood up and very nearly lost her balance.

"And I'm an 'opportunity-sensible' sailor," Eoleo grumbled under his breath, standing up to carry Himi to her room.

Karis spared one more glare his direction before lightly stumbling over to Amiti. She stared at him: he seemed completely sober. "H-How are you…?" She began, and he smiled.

"Being a vegetarian has its perks. And this is the reason, in case you were wondering, why I didn't want to travel with a pirate. Anyway, let's lug him to his room," Amiti finished. They both squatted down and pulled Tyrell out by his legs, and then, getting his on his feet, started to drag his down the hall.

Matthew picked up Sveta in his arms, and, hoping that she would have no memory of this when she woke up from her Psynergetically-induced sleep, carried her to her room.

Eoleo was the first (and would end up being the only, as everyone else decided to take a short nap) back to the galley, and took it upon himself to clean up, whistling as he did so.

That had been quite the meal. He wasn't sure how he felt about everything that had happened, as there were some possibly awkward repercussions, but a good deal of what had happened had been amusing. Karis was probably going to make him walk the plank, though.

He turned at the sound of the galley door to see Kraden looking somewhat confused.

"My, is breakfast over already?" He asked, and Eoleo shrugged.

"Uh, I guess ye could say that… we experienced some… difficulties," Eoleo replied, trying not to meet the old man's eyes.

Kraden sniffed the air. "Why do I smell rum?"

"…We ran out of the cooking oil," Eoleo responded sheepishly.

Kraden sighed. "You just got all of them drunk didn't you?"

"Unintentionally!" Eoleo exclaimed as he finished stacking the last few dishes. "And only six! Amiti didn't get any because he's a pansy. Or whatever you call it. Vegetarian."

Kraden rubbed his brow in apparent frustration, and said, "I thought we were going to talk about our next course of action after we reach Tonfon?"

"Yeah…" Eoleo said, slapping his head in light anger. "Listen, we'll let 'em sleep for a few hours, and then we'll discuss that." He paused, and winced. "I'm sorry about all this."

Kraden shook his head, and replied, "I understand this wasn't your intent, but still, it's unfortunate to say the least. You certainly are your father's son, for better or worse. Try to be a bit less reckless?"

"I will… sorry," Eoleo said, hanging his head low.

"I'll be in my study," Kraden said, and with one more shake of his head, disappeared down the hall. Eoleo peaked once to make sure he was gone, and allowed himself a small chuckle.

"This was the best breakfast ever."

* * *

><p><em>Indeed it was Lo-Lo, indeed it was. So. Uh. That happened. Where to start. Two things to begin with I guess: both MiaEoleo and the… ending scene… came completely out of nowhere. Spontaneous ideas that I ran with. I'm still trying to figure out a shipping name for Mia/Eoleo. Poor, poor, Rief._

_I have a mini-rant in a rant to go over later, but for now I'll put that on hold. I'm tentatively calling Karis/Himi Hardclay shipping. Because it kind of sounds like "hard gay", and for another kind of kinky reason I'm not going to bring up here. :P_

_For Eoleo's pirate speak, it's a littttle over the top, but it will actually get addressed in the fic later on, so there's a reason for it. Kind of/not really._

_I recall saying somewhere I don't like writing chapters over 7,000 words long. This is above 8,000, and that's before the author's notes are included (and we all know how big they end up being). There really wasn't a cut-off point, at least that I saw. I pumped the rest out yesterday, and am kind of pleased. More on that later._

_I wanted to shake out the focus on Matthew, Sveta, Karis, and Himi by introducing the entire group (well, actually Eoleo was the only member of the eight who hadn't been shown yet…), and showing them interacting together. Also, I wanted to remove the vibes of teenage angst and replace them with somewhat light-hearted comedy._

_I hope someone has as much reading this as I did writing it. I was cracking up the second half of the story: it caused a perma-grin until this morning._

_So, it's rant time: I have a big issue with this fic. How much of this do I want to be humor, how much do I want to be romance, and how much do I want to be adventure? It's hard to mix the three. The first four chapters were decidedly romance/drama with light humor peppered in. This chapter is most definitely humor based. Then the next few will be based on the plot, and I'm worried that jumping around through genres will feel slightly awkward._

_At its core, this is a Himi-centric fic with a lot of other character playing main roles and held together by teen romance. At the same time, though, I'd really like to tell a meaningful story alongside that. Question being, am I a decent enough writer to do that (which I have doubts about), and how would I go about it?_

_I'm just worried it will feel disjointed. This isn't a "I'm worried about the fic and am stopping it" or something like that. I love writing this fic, and will finish it. But I have to admit, as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter, originally it was supposed to be much more serious in the latter half, and deal with the plot. Somehow, it turned into everyone getting drunk (unintentionally) and going down the humor route. And as funny as I thought it was… I can't help but feel it's out of place._

_Ugh. Nothing worse than a whiny author. I'll shut up, but I'd appreciate feedback as to the above introspection._

_Legitimate other concerns through: Were the character perspective shifts confusing? There were a lot of them, as all the characters were in place. I believe it started out with Sveta, almost shifted to Himi, shifted to Rief, then after he left because completely 3rd person. There was a lot going on though, so I worry that didn't go smoothly._

_Dialogue always worries me. So does characterization. Pacing as well; the flow in general might be bad because I couldn't find a good place to cut this chapter up. I'm also kind of pissed at how many spelling and grammatical errors are sliding through. I'd like to say it's a result of trying to update quicker, but that's a poor excuse. Hopefully this one was more up to snuff. I delayed it for a day or so for that purpose. One final concern: with the Rief/Sveta scene I might have gotten a bit lost temporally. That was a lot of had's._

_Funny story: while editing I realized Eoleo's ship doesn't have any buildings on the deck, which is where I originally had the galley being. I considered screwing canon, but now have put said galley under the deck. I think I might have to edit a few chapters (chapter four I think), as I may have but another building on the deck without realizing it. Oh well._

_So, lots of questions and concerns. I felt there was a lot of good though. Himi/Eoleo bonding, the group bonding as a whole, a few delicate issues being brought out into the forefront, Rief/Eoleo somewhat bonding._

_The next chapter will be much more plot based, and within it the plot will actually really start… I may have to go back to the first few chapters and edit lightly, not to change things that already exist, but to add in different pieces of info._

_Finally (I really can't believe I haven't done this before), thank you for all the reviews! Four per chapter is a lot, and it really makes me happy and all warm and fuzzy on the inside. You guys and gals are what make fanfiction worth-while. And the same goes for everyone who reads but doesn't review. Putting up with my ranty author's notes and weird humor can kind of be a trip, and I appreciate it :)_

_Anyway, rant completed. I hope you enjoyed this drunken breakfast, reviews are welcome as always!_


	6. Interesting First Dates

_Dayum. I'm disgusted with how long this took. I guess I just… I don't know, I don't have a legitimate excuse, but I guess I just lost interest in the plot line slightly. I had fun writing this chapter once I got a little more than a third in, though, but that took awhile to happen._

_Karis Claus obviously took up a lot of time, but still; no excuse. Oh well. More ranting later, here it is._

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Interesting First Dates<p>

Karis woke up with the distinct urge to vomit, couple with the somewhat pleasant feeling of her sheets pressed against her skin. For whatever reason, they felt much softer than usual. Very soft, silky even, almost just like… Sveta's fur.

Karis's eyes shot open, and quickly noticed she was indeed lying next to the beastgirl. In reality, it was less of a "lie next to" and more of a "being grappled onto by Sveta". As hung-over as Karis was (she was feeling the ramifications greater that she had expected, this being the first time she had ever gotten drunk), she still clearly remembered that she and Sveta were no longer together. More over, she knew they were in their room, meaning Himi, the person she WAS dating, was in the same room as them, and possibly viewing Sveta being all over her.

Of course, after a moment she realized Himi may not even be awake, being so intoxicated, but still. Karis needed to get Sveta off her, and as such whispered, "Sveta, wake up!" To her surprise, a whimper greeted her. "Wait… you're awake?"

"Y-yes," Sveta whispered, and clung even tighter.

"Are you… um… feeling better?" Karis questioned awkwardly.

Sveta responded clearly, "Karis, beastpeople may get drunk incredibly easily and quickly, but the same goes for how quickly the effect fades. I'm already sober."

"Oh, well that's good then," Karis replied, her mind fighting a battle of whether or not to ask Sveta to get up or let her lie in her bed for a bit longer. "Umm… if you don't mind me asking, why are you in my bed? It's not that… well… I…"

"Oh, I'm sorry Karis, but I just needed someone to hold onto and… I just feel so embarrassed," Sveta said, burying her face into Karis's shoulder.

The green-haired wind Adept sighed, and lightly pulled Sveta's head back while asking, "What's wrong? I mean… how much of this morning do you remember?" Karis gulped, hoping Sveta had no memory of what she had done to Matthew.

"Karis…" Sveta started, looking into her eyes with a look of complete weariness. "We beastpeople also… we have high memory retention from when we are under the influence. I remember everything. And Matthew must think I'm a, a… _slut_." She whispered the last word under her breath, shivering as she did so.

Karis gasped, and lightly slapped Sveta on the cheek. At the beastgirl's reaction, which was a shocked one, Karis said, "I'm sorry, but that is terrible! You are most definitely not a slut Sveta. I don't know how you could say something like that about yourself… You were just drunk, and it wasn't even your fault that you were intoxicated! I mean… DAMMIT I AM GOING TO KILL EOLEO!"

Karis began to swear heavily, her headache and Sveta's comments bringing her to her breaking point. She panted for a few moments as Sveta stared at her with wide eyes, surprised at Karis's outburst. The enraged Jupiter Adept nearly continued into another shout, before realizing that Himi was in the room. In fear, she quickly glanced in that direction, only to find Himi lying face-down on her bed, completely still. Suddenly, her fear was replaced with concern, and she gingerly got out of her bed. She stutter-stepped once, but after regaining her balance quickly made her way over to the young girls bed.

What if… what is she had consumed too much…? Her fears were once again doused as she noticed Himi's chest moving up and down, and she breathed in a sigh of relief. "Okay, she's breathing, she's fine. She'll probably wake up soon, hopefully," Karis said, turning back to Sveta, who was now sitting on her bed, staying at the ground with her hands in her lap.

Karis frowned, and whispered, "Sveta…"

"Alcohol only brings out what is already in a person," The beastgirl whispered in disgust. "I can't believe that I would stoop so low, and try to… to…"

"Sveta," Karis interrupted, sitting next to her on the bed, and wrapping an arm around her. "That was some potent rum. You weren't just out of it: you probably didn't know that what was going on was real. You can't be blamed on acting on what you thought was a dream."

Sveta shrugged, and asked, "But isn't that still… dirty? That I would dream of him like that, so soon into our relationship?"

Karis coughed as images of her first dreams the night she had convinced Sveta to go out with her came to her mind. Said images were very, very, inappropriate for children of a young age. Karis bit her lip; on the one hand, knowing that Karis also had dreams such at that would probably ease her worry, but on the other hand it would be awkward to bring their relationship back up once again.

"Well, to be honest, I've had dreams like that before, early into a relationship," Karis replied, glancing slightly away from Sveta.

"…O-Oh. Like, with Matthew?" Sveta questioned, and Karis sighed.

"Um… no. Someone a bit more… fuzzy," She blurted out, covering her face with her hands. Why had she been stupid enough to believe this break-up was going to go smoothly whatsoever? As cute as Himi was, Karis had tremendous feelings for both Matthew and Sveta, and seeing them with each other was just… too much.

She stole a glance at Sveta's now red face, no doubt imaging exactly what Karis had dreamt on that pleasant night, before both of their attention was diverted by a knock at their door.

"Yes?" Karis replied hastily, hoping this meant she could avoid discussing anything sexually related with Sveta.

"It's Matthew, may I come in?" The voice sounded, and it was indeed Matthew's.

"We're kind of in the middle of a lesbian orgy… come back later?" Sveta replied, causing Matthew on the other side of the door to nearly trip over his own two feet and causing Karis to turn so quickly that she nearly whipped Sveta in the face with her ponytail.

The beastgirl held a bemused grin, and Karis smiled; apparently, what she said had worked, and lulled Sveta out of her funk.

"Uh… no seriously, can I come in? Or… join," Matthew asked, whispering the last word.

Both Karis and Sveta laughed, before Karis said, "Yes, come in." Matthew quickly entered, a look of slight anticipation on his face that soon was wiped away, his countenance reverting to the stoic flatness it usually possessed.

"…By Jupiter, you really thought we were in an orgy, didn't you?" Karis murmured, causing Matthew to blush.

"N-No, I just wasn't sure if I was dreaming or not, and thought maybe… you know… sometimes guys dream about… never mind," He finished weakly, wishing strongly that he hadn't said anything at all. Karis and Sveta shared a quick look, before giggling heavily. Matthew smiled, and rolled his eyes; he didn't mind being the blunt of jokes. As they finished their giggles, Matthew looked at Sveta, and their eyes met.

Both smiled, and in each of their minds, the same thought rang: _Maybe this can work out after all._ At first, Karis assumed Matthew was smiling at her, and smiled back. It took only a second for her to realize her mistake, and her smile quickly dissipated. It had been hard enough to see Sveta so infatuated with him, but… as cruel as it sounded, while Karis hadn't always necessarily favored Matthew romantically, she had always appreciated how infatuated he was with her. His constant smiles, compliments, and general actions had been what had led her to realize she was lying to herself about her feelings for him.

But now, he was Sveta's. Karis should have felt happy for them; she knew this. And yet, she couldn't help but regret it, that two people she loved were so far apart from her, despite being right in front of her. She wanted to hold Sveta in her arms again, and to gently tickle her ears as they laid in the break of dawn. And she wanted to kiss Matthew once more, as she had only ever done it once. All those years she had been beside him, able to lure him in as her own with a simple few words or touching of her lips to his… they seemed like such a waste, now.

The moment broke as a cough rang from the other side of the room, belonging to Himi. "I will heal her," Sveta whispered, getting up and preparing herself for a few Boons.

"Er… can you cure a hangover with Psynergy?" Matthew asked Karis, who shrugged.

"It certainly can't hurt to try. What did you need us for, by the way?" She replied, absent mindedly looking Matthew over. He seemed to be taking the hangover very well.

As Sveta began to pour Boons into the young Venus Adept, Matthew replied, "Oh, we're supposed to be having a meeting now; we're discussing our next plan of action. We were going to earlier, but… you know…"

"Right," Karis responded, her eyes narrowing. "Um, forgive me if this sounds odd, but… why do you seem so sober?"

Matthew froze at the question, and closed his eyes after another moment. "I've… drunken before," He whispered quietly, not facing her. Karis raised an eyebrow: Matthew, a drinker? She would have never pictured it.

"Um… if you don't mind me asking, when, and why?" She questioned, and he shifted uneasily. It was clear that she was striking a nerve of sorts, but maybe this had been (or still was) a legitimate problem for Matthew, and maybe she could help.

"Um, a decent amount at the cabin, and a good number of nights on this quest when everyone else was asleep," He muttered, rubbing his arm anxiously. "It was… kind of depression. Over you, and the quest. Sorry."

It took Karis a slight moment, be it because of the hangover or the surrealism of the entire conversation to register exactly what he had said. When she did, however, she quickly shouted out, "You became an alcoholic because of me!"

Whereas they had been speaking very softly and Sveta had previously been too occupied to listen, this exclamation attracted her attention. She turned, Himi now groggily batting her eye-lids, and whispered, "What did you just say?"

There was a pause where Karis tried to find every possible way to cover up what had just occurred, but before she could get the chance to put any of these ideas into play Matthew began to speak calmly and with melancholy. "Karis asked why I wasn't hung-over, and I told her it was because I'm used to drinking. I've been an on and off drinker the past year or so. Not so much an alcoholic; I don't drink a ton, just a bit to calm my nerves At first, it was out of sadness from rejection, but recently it's been tied to our quest. Truth be told, it's gotten worse ever since the Eclipse."

"Oh," Sveta replied simply, her ears dipping low. Karis held her breathing subside as she stared into the space in front of her, eyes wide. She had caused Matthew, one of her closest friends… to become an alcoholic. She felt her head pound, and held it in her hands, though she doubted the pounding was due to her hangover. She hadn't known… she had… oh Gods, had her indecision really led him to that? Was it even indecision, or had she just been playing with his heart? Karis wanted to throw up, it made her heart ache so badly.

"…Karis, don't feel bad," Matthew whispered, glancing down at the floor awkwardly. "It's not that awful; I just had some of Dad's liquor when he wasn't looking. It's not like I got wasted or anything like that. I only really started to drink regularly, you know, when our quest started, and even then I don't overdo it."

"But, why Matthew?" Sveta asked, moving toward him, and placing her hand on his shoulder. Karis continued to stare straight ahead, still not believing what she was hearing.

"Well, it was stressful," He replied, looking her head in the eyes. It was plain by his pained expression that this was something he didn't want to discuss. "My two best friends were under my watch, and we were alone in the wilderness. I was afraid to fail, to let them down, afraid I couldn't handle the pressure." _I still am,_ he thought to himself, but then continued speaking. "And within the first week, Karis nearly died from deadly poisoning."

Karis perked up at the mention of her name, and then scowled; she remembered the incident well. After they had mocked the pathetic spiders they had come across routinely, she had been bitten by one that had snuck up behind her. Tyrell had also been slightly wounded, and Matthew had been forced to carry her on his back to a Sanctum. The memories were fairly hazy, but looking back, she could distinctly recall him being quick a wreck during the entire experience. She felt her heart sink further; her carelessness had led to that much pain.

"I understand: seeing your love nearly die, and knowing you were tasked with keeping her safe and directing her in battle, it must have been a great stress on you," Sveta whispered soothingly, and Matthew frowned. He hadn't wanted to bring his feelings for Karis up for Sveta's sake, but seeing as she had done it for him, he assumed she was fine acknowledging that they existed.

"Yeah… it was…" Matthew replied, noticing how distraught Karis was as he spoke. Deciding it would be best to save this conversation for another day (or to never continue it, if he had his way) for both of their sakes, he then said, "Sveta, we can talk about this later; right now we need to get to the meeting. They're probably wondering what's taking so long. Let's wake up Himi and—"

"I'll wake up Himi; you two go on ahead," Karis replied in a monotone, still staring at the ground. Matthew frowned, and reached out his hand, tempted to try to comfort her. He knew she must feel terribly guilty, that she had caused his drinking, and while she partially had, it was more the quest than anything. However, as he stretched his arm, Sveta's hand came down upon his shoulder, and she gave him a quick look. It held understanding, but also told him very clearly that Karis needed time alone. He nodded, trying to push his guilt away.

"Okay, Karis. I… I'll see you at the meeting," Matthew said, taking small steps backwards toward the door. She barely lifted her head to signify a nod, and at that moment he became determined to reopen the situation, but before he could Sveta grabbed his by his scarf and forcefully pulled him out the door, closing it quietly behind them. Karis didn't notice, as the door rattled closed, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

><p>"Sveta, what the hell, I needed to—" Matthew began to whisper angrily after they had strode about ten feet down the hallway (out of earshot of the room), but was silence quickly by Sveta's eyes. While not harsh, they held a certain sternness that up until today he hadn't seen before.<p>

"Matthew, I know Karis well, and she needs to be alone. She likes to think things over, and right now that is what she must do. I understand how much you love her, but if you ever truly want to understand her, you must realize that fact," Sveta said slowly, pausing to let the words sink in. "She is in a bad place right now, and talking to either of her former lovers isn't going to be what gets her out of it. It may present an opportunity for her to bond with Himi, however."

"I… I…" Matthew stuttered, trying to find a hole in her logic. He found none; it was true, he knew that Karis took a long time to make decisions. But, had Sveta really grown to know her that well in such a short time? Now that he thought of it, Sveta seemed to know exactly how to deal with Karis. How to make her happy, how to help her when she was sad, how to help her make tough decisions. Definitely how to turn her on. Maybe… Karis and Sveta being together had been much better for Karis. And maybe, just maybe it had been better for Sveta. There was little doubt in his mind that he was a primary (if not the) reason that they broke up. Sveta's voice broke him from his thoughts as guilt crept up his spine.

"Matthew, don't feel bad: the fact that you want to explain yourself to her and comfort her is natural," Sveta continued, running her hands through his golden hair. "In fact, it's very noble. She's lucky to have know you for such a long time. In any case, Karis simply needs some time to sort through her own mind, and then she will come to a decision. Unless… that's not what's bothering you?"

"Well…" Matthew frowned, afraid to state what he was thinking. It had a great potential to come out the wrong way… if only he didn't have to form the words, and she could just read his — Matthew smacked his forehead, causing Sveta to raise an eyebrow. If only she could read minds? She could read his heart, for Venus's sake.

"Sveta… would you use your Spirit Sense on me? I don't want to screw up what I want to say," Matthew asked, beaming at the ingenious of his idea. To his surprise, Sveta seemed less than pleased, biting her lip and glancing away from him.

"O-Okay," She whispered, and held her hand out. Instead of simply holding it near him as she normally did, she pushed it up against his chest, directly next to his heart. He felt his breathing increase; she was so close to him now.

"Uhmm… Don't you normally just hold it out without physical contact?" He asked in a causal tone.

Sveta, who had been focused on his request and staring downward and her hand, looked up with a questioning glance. "Er... Matthew…" She whispered. "We are, um, dating. In human culture does that not imply further physicality than that which is present in friendship?"

Matthew mentally groaned; Isaac had been right, he had no suave when it came to women whatsoever. How embarrassing. To his further embarrassment, she giggled, and said, "I don't think it's embarrassing at all, Matthew — you were just curious."

Matthew briefly wondered how the hell she had read his mind before it occurred to him that she was, well, more or less reading his mind. Resigning to shutting up and letting her focus on discerning his worries, he hummed an old tune he had picked up in Kolima for thirty seconds.

Finally, Sveta dropped her hand, and brought her eyes to his. She seemed none too pleased; her brow was furrowed and her hands were balled into tight fists. Matthew gulped, and attempted to get the first word in and apologize for whatever she saw that led to her displeasure, but he was too slow, as she began to quietly berate him. "You're too damn noble, Matthew."

He blinked. She though he was too… noble? "I can't believe you blame yourself for Karis and I's separation," She continued, crossing her arms. "Yes, you were a focal point of the entire matter, but we chose what to do, and agreed upon it. Of course, the outcome wasn't what we were expecting… which I'm sure we both hold some guilt for, but that's beside the point."

She paused, and her expression softened. "And I simply can't believe that you are so caught up in believing that I was a better match for Karis and that I am fonder of her than I am of you. Of course I am incredibly fond of her, and I enjoyed our time together, but I made the choice to be with you, and I will stick by it. You do not give yourself enough credit, and worry too much over such untrue things, Matthew."

Matthew heaved out a sigh and smiled; she had said exactly what he had needed to hear. "Thank you Sveta, all of that makes a bit more sense to be now," He replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I'm just too damn observant for my own good; I try to overanalyze everything. Speaking of analyzing though… eh, never mind." She raised an eyebrow at his sudden halting of speech, and motioned for him to continue.

"Well… I was wondering why you were so hesitant to read my heart," Matthew said, once again hoping he wouldn't offend her.

Sveta's ears drooped slightly, and she sighed. "Reading people's spirits is… complicated," She began, moving closer towards him. "I can't really… control everything I see. I don't get to pick and choose when I wade, so I have to keep going until I see what I wish to. It's also… different depending on the person. Take you or Karis: since I know you both fairly well, when I read your spirit I go very deep into your being, whereas when I first met you and her, I could barely scratch the surface."

"So…" Matthew replied, having a hard time forming his sentence again, as he realized once more how close their bodies were. "You, uh, why did that make you scared of reading mine?"

She blushed, and tilted her head downward, whispering something softly. She peeked her eyes up to see if he heard, and sighed when it became clear to her that he hadn't. "I was scared to see what you thought of me," She whispered. "I thought that you might… hold anger in your heart that you were with me and not Karis."

Matthew smiled knowingly, and without thinking placed his hands around her sides. "Sveta…" He whispered, causing her to bring her head up fully. "I take it you found that's not the case?" She nodded, and he smiled wider. "Then, no big deal, right?"

She shared his smile, and nodded again. "So, everything is alright, then?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah… it's… er…" Matthew fumbled with his words, the realization that he was holding her sides hitting him. Her body shape was very feminine; he hadn't really taken the time to notice how beautiful and, well, exotic Sveta was.

"Matthew, are you having trouble forming your words again? Would you like me to read your heart?" Sveta asked, mistaking his arousal for uneasiness. He nodded, and she did so, not bothering to raise her hand as she was already so close and in direct contact with him. It took her much less longer, this time; Matthew really only had one thing occupying his heart at this point.

She exited his heart quickly, and blushed. "You're too damn noble, Matthew," She whispered, her hands now embracing his sides. "If you had wanted to kiss me, there was no need to ask."

He was quickly lost in a wave of lavender and the soft graze of her lips and light hair against his face. Matthew did little to fight the feeling, succumbing to her kisses as she raised her leg and wrapped it slightly around him. Before he completely lost his mind to her body, one last thought sounded in it: _Having a girlfriend who can read your mind is a definite plus._

Needless to say, somewhere down the line he was going to come to quite a different conclusion about his significant other being able to probe his thoughts. But for now, he allowed himself to become entranced in Sveta's rough tongue and her sweet scent.

* * *

><p>Karis counted to ten after she heard the door shut before she slowly slid to the floor. For what seemed like the hundredth time in two days, her mind was ablaze with different thoughts and emotions. She held her head, and fighting to hold back tears, let out a pitiful sigh.<p>

_Might as well start from the top,_ She thought bitterly. _So, I drove Matthew to drinking. I can see how. I didn't think he felt that bad about the rejection… but I guess I was wrong. However, it can't be too terrible of an addiction; Tyrell and I would have noticed, not to mention the other members of the party. And… he DID say it was mostly because of our quest. But that's still my fault: my being careless led him to feel so much grief. It's inexcusable either way, really._

_ Just like everything I've done regarding him. I didn't give a damn how sneaky he has been with his drinking, I should have noticed his habit, should have noticed the change in behavior, should have been more questioning of him. But, instead, I simply assumed he was fine, and just needed time to get over my answer. That's what I would have wanted, anyway – time. _

Karis had, from the beginning of their journey, let Matthew lead, but it was in all honesty because she simply believed he had needed the experience. In her mind, she had been the best fit out of the three to successfully guide them. As such, she had often added in her opinion with a bit more force than she should have, and had tried to give Matthew advice whenever possible.

_I thought I was a leader; I mean, I'm good with people, aren't I? Except the way I handled Matthew. And the way I handled Sveta. And the way I handle Tyrell. Oh… oh gosh. I'm no leader. It took me a damn year to decide if my feelings for Matthew were true, and I couldn't even tell that he was a developing alcoholic. I'm not just slow, I'm freaking… stupid. How the hell couldn't I tell? He's my best friend! Maybe… did I… did I notice, and just ignore it? Did I try to pretend that everything was just okay, because I couldn't accept that I was at fault. Oh… Jupiter…_

"…Are you alright, Karis?" Himi's voice nearly caused Karis to leap straight up in the air and crash into the ceiling, it frightened her so badly. She turned to face the young Venus Adept, well aware of how miserable she must look. Karis imagined her hair was fairly disheveled, and didn't need to imagine to know that her eyes and face were doused with tears.

"N-No," She whispered in reply, shakily trying to lift herself off the ground. Himi bent down and lent her a hand, and once Karis was on her feet, she embraced the young girl. Himi, after a moment, returned the embrace. They stayed that way for some time, until Karis parted from her, and turned away.

"Thank you, Himi… I needed that," She whispered as she made her way toward the door.

"Karis… wait," Came the Venus Adept's soft voice, clearly full on concern. Karis halted, her hand on the handle, but made no other motion. "Can we… talk? I'm here, for you."

Karis let out a deep sigh. "Yes, we can… but later," She replied, and continued before Himi could interrupt, "I just can't do it now, and we need to get up to a meeting."

"…Okay," Himi replied, clearly still distraught about Karis's condition. "I just have… one question for you. Umm… why do I have a massive headache, and what happened this morning? My memory seems to be… lacking."

Karis burst out laughing, feeling cheery for the first time since she had woken up. "Oh, gosh, Himi, I'll explain that later as well. Let's just say… Eoleo owes all of us big-time after this morning. Especially you. Hehe… turtles."

"Tu…rtles?" Himi asked with an innocently perturbed face, but Karis just shook her head and chuckled once more. Himi sighed; this relationship thing wasn't going to be as easy as she had hoped. The Yamatain walked up to Karis, and with a nod she opened the door and they walked out and turned to see…

Sveta, benefited by her superior hearing, tried, to her credit, to jump off Matthew, but she was pinned up against the wall and he was grappling with her clothes. In other words, by the time Himi and Karis looked in their direction, she had only managed to really remove her lips from his, and it was more than clear what they had been doing a second prior.

Himi coughed and glanced the other direction while Karis simply closed her eyes and tried to imagine she hadn't seen what she had as Matthew realized what was going on and jumped backwards.

"Just… can't… get… any… worse," Karis muttered under her breath through gritted teeth. Matthew opened his mouth to try to explain himself, but Sveta grabbed him and pushed him down the hallway.

"Just move," She whispered, cursing herself for deciding to make out in the middle of the hallway that Himi and Karis were obviously going to come into. Matthew sighed and nodded, walking doing the hall.

After they turned a corner, Karis opened her eyes, and groaned. Watching Sveta and Matthew being in a relationship was not going to be as easy as she had thought it would. Just seeing them kiss had twisted her stomach every which way; she had loved kissing both of them, and now had neither—

Karis's eyes widened as a pair of lips pressed up against her own, and within a split second she realized that it was Himi who had done it. It was a brief kiss, but sweet; Himi clearly didn't know how to kiss well, but that didn't lessen the sentiment involved, and in all actuality, the kiss was refreshing because of it.

Himi lowered herself after a few moments (Karis noted with a smile that the Venus Adept had stood on her tip toes to reach her lips), and, blushing heavily, asked, "Was… that good?"

"It was wonderful, Himi," Karis answered, giving her a peck on the lips. "I needed that. Thank you. Sorry if I… am a little high maintenance today."

"No worries," Himi replied with a smile. "So, shall we follow them?"

"Yes, I suppose we should," Karis replied, and extended her arm, which Himi took with a grin. They wouldn't let go until they reached the ship's main cabin.

* * *

><p><em>Ehhhhhh. Eh. Ehhhhhhh. Unsure is the word I would use to describe my feelings for this chapter. But you know what? Screw it. It's done, which is cause for celebration enough. This one is a little shorter than the last few, which is a nice change of pace because huge chapters, while nice, are huge, and it's a lot easier for me to keep track of things when they're more cut up.<em>

_The length of just about every chapter here on out should be around five to ten thousand words, but it will vary within that range. I actually wanted to put the meeting in this chapter, but alas, more relationship angst. In reality, I needed to establish more depth to Karis and Matthew's relationship (rather than, "oh, gee, guess we'll just wait a while till we get back to the cabin and bone"), needed to put more depth into Matthew's character (look out for a chapter where he gets drunk shortly), and needed to build both Sveta/Matthew and Himi/Karis. I still need to build the latter, but that will come shortly._

_The next chapter should get through the meeting, and hopefully then at least intro into the second phase or so of the plot line. Oh, right, the plot-line. I'm still trying to work that out; needless to say, the idea of this being a short fic has gone out the window. I'm aiming for 30-40 chapters; I need to do plot outlining soon. At the least, I'm not going to go over every single damn town and dungeon; we would be here for eternity. But I will go through a decent amount of them, I'd like to think at least half. But only when it makes sense plot-wise; this isn't a guide describing the dungeons. Gosh I can already see the problems with that happening._

_It's firmly in my head that this is the weakest chapter in this story so far, but I have high hopes for the next few. At the least, this one is certainly a downer next to the absolute riot that was chapter 5. Not trying to make this into an afterschool special fic, but there is a underlying line here about alcohol screwing everything up, and that's kind of intentional._

_Blah ramble ramble ramble. Okay, next I should be updating A Gentler Steam, because cripes it's been almost as long as it's taken me to update this. I apologize. Reviews are always welcome, expect the next chapter in two weeks or less! Thank you for reading!_


	7. Into the Darkness, or into the Light?

_Author's Note: And here we are yet again, started this on Saturday Night. Smart. Not like I had all of Thursday and Friday to work on it :/ . Oh well, at least it's here (I wrote this before I finished, so I hope it is indeed here)._

_To begin with, an anonymous reviewer made a few good points about the way I handled Matthew's drinking last chapter. "You portrayal of Matthew as an alcoholic is unrealistic. Alcoholics don't admit to that sort of thing so easily, and alcoholism is a pretty serious matter that doesn't really match with Matthew's description of it." I agree with the first and third point within the quote pretty heavily. This idea was a bit rushed on my part, and it shows; I wanted to add it in earlier, but forgot about it, and its implementation wasn't what it could have been. For that reason, I think it seemed a little off._

_Also, I kind of didn't really mean he was an alcoholic; he's drunken some, but it's not a serious condition. So, I misworded it pretty badly, and as such went back and changed it to what I think make a bit more sense. For those who don't want to go and see what it looks like now, basically; Matthew has an issue with drinking, but it's not terribly serious. It's not good, but it doesn't have a hold on him._

_The second point though, about how quickly he admitted to it, has an explanation behind it, or actually a few. To begin with, Matthew really does care for Karis, and isn't much of a liar; furthermore, she knows him so well that he knows if he does lie she will pick up on it, and will do whatever she can to get the truth out of him. Speaking of getting the truth out, in the same room as them is an Adept who can read minds that Karis would probably be able to convince to read his mind if she seriously thought something was wrong with him. Finally, he trusts both of them, and Matthew is, in this fic, a bit too trusting. YAY FOR CHARACTER FLAWS!_

_Future chapters are going to do a better job of tackling the issue. Speaking of future chapters, onto this one._

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Into the Darkness, or into the Light?<p>

By the time Himi and Karis reached the main cabin, Matthew and Sveta were already seated, as were the rest of the party. They had all seen better days, as a good number of them looked like they definitely could have benefitted from a few more hours rest to kill the rum in their systems (especially Tyrell, who looked so dead that at a glance he might have been mistaken for a monster of the Eclipse). Kraden kept looking around at them nervously and worriedly, before sending harsh glares in Eoleo's direction, who would simply shrug and flash a apologetic-smile.

"Ah! They are here… we shall begin then," Amiti said hurriedly, smiling at Himi and Karis. The Jupiter Adept gave a half-hearted smile (still disheartened over the day's events) while Himi returned it in full, tilting her head and closing her eyes as she did so, and as a result tripped on the floor and went flying into Eoleo's back.

The visual was something like an acorn getting caught in a gust and smacking into a regal oak tree. Eoleo glanced around at the contact, and then said in all seriousness, "I think a draft just hit my back, can one of ye close that window?"

"I dam mo daft," Himi said quietly, her body and face on the ground, causing Eoleo to turn around and gulp.

"Hehehe, she bounced like, WHOOP!" Gurgled Tyrell, clapping his hands like a monkey. Karis rolled her eyes as she reached down to help her girlfriend up, Eoleo standing to do the same.

"I thought you said you healed her drunkenness!" Matthew whispered to Sveta, who was watching the spectacle with a frown.

The beastgirl returned his gaze nervously, and whispered, "I tried to, and I got some of it; she should be much more mentally clear than she would have been. But, in terms of coordination…"

Sveta winced as Himi crashed her head into Karis's chest, losing her footing once again, and winced ever harder as Tyrell stood up and shouted, "MOTOR BOAT THAT SHIT!"

"She's still a little off and ohmygoodness I'm going to gohealTyrell before Karisreduceshim to apileofash," Sveta blurted out, rushing with her hands up toward the drunken Mars Adept.

"Huh," Matthew said to himself as she did so. His head was still swimming slightly and he wondered what half of the words Sveta had just used where. "I didn't know Beastmen have their own language, I should ask her to teach me it."

Karis and Eoleo gingerly helped Himi to the round-table, the Jupiter Adept ignoring the deep-seeded urge to send thralls of lightning at Tyrell. He must be incredibly drunk, she knew, but still… at least Sveta was healing him.

After Sveta returned to her seat, leaving a much less dopey Tyrell behind her, Matthew cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. "So… I understand we're all a little, um, impaired, but this can't wait any longer. Eoleo?"

"Aye…" Eoleo muttered, rising out of his chair and walking over to the board that adjourned the wall. "So, if you'll just turn your attention to the sea-chart on the Plunder-Planner… er…" Amiti snorted and flared his nostrils, while Himi's eyes narrowed and everyone else let out an exasperated sigh. "Probably should rename that… anyway, we are here." He pointed to a spot on the map that was fairly near Angara.

"Ah, so we're close to Angara?" Rief said, and Eoleo nodded.

"About two days away…" He replied, and then pulled out a wooden pointer from his overcoat. "Now, as you all may recall, we agreed after we set out from Yamata, we could head for Angara and then think over where we should go from there, depending on how far the Eclipse has spread. Now, we can't be certain, but…"

"It has not hit Tonfon, and I doubt it will within the next few months," Sveta interrupted, and blushed when everyone turned to stare at her. "I… looked from the Crow's Nest. My superior vision lets me see to the mainland."

"Ah, alright then," Eoleo replied, trying to ignore the fact that she may have just read his mind. "What of Champa and Ayuthay? Or is that too far?"

Sveta bit her lip, and replied, "Champa… is under the Eclipse, that is for certain." If this news dismayed Eoleo, he hid the fact. "But I cannot see all the way to Ayuthay. Still… based on how large the spread of the Eclipse is, I believe Ayuthay would be covered. I'm sorry, both of you…" Sveta trailed off, unable to look both the Champan and Ayuthayan in the eyes.

"I can't speak for Amiti, Sveta, but I don't think you must apologize," Eoleo responded, his finger absentmindedly tracing the sea chart and landing on his home.

"But I am the princess of Belinsk, and Morgal! And it is from my home that this black death has spread, so as a member of the Czamaral clan, I must take responsibility," She replied firmly, clearly distraught.

"Oh, hush. You did everything to prevent it from occurring," Eoleo said with a wave of his hand. His thoughts flashed to Volechek, and how the same was not true of him, but the pirate held his tongue. "Besides, the people of Champa will be fine. If those monstrosities want to attack my home, they will get more than they bargained for."

"Does Champa have a large defense force at home?" Rief questioned, interested.

"Hahaha, not so much large. It's really only one person, to be honest," Eoleo chuckled, causing the group to give him odd looks. "It's my great-grandmother: she has this damned Salamander she can summon, and that's not all her forge can do… not to mention she's not too bad with a dagger, herself."

"…You're great grandmother?" Karis said disbelievingly.

Eoleo laughed again, and replied, "Trust me, you do NOT want to get on her bad-side. That lady is a force."

"In any case," Amiti broke in, trying to get the conversation back on track. "I don't fear for Ayuthay. My people were most likely still underground when the Eclipse struck, and even if they weren't they would be able to get indoors very quickly."

"So… I mean…" Matthew sighed. "Look, I understand you are both trying to be selfless and let us go to Tonfon rather than stopping at your respective homes, but we won't think any less of you if you want to."

Eoleo and Amiti both frowned, and shared a knowing glance among each other, possibly the first time such an exchange between the two had occurred.

"Listen, Matthew…" Eoleo began. "Of course we do. We're worried as all hell, and we'd love to go check on our homes. But, it would be unfair, to some degree; I mean, you, Karis, and Tyrell don't have that luxury, Sveta's home is… you know. We can't stop to search for Himi's brother, and Rief lives so far north we'd forget what warm is in a week. Trust me, I've been to Imil. And… where do you live?" Eoleo asked, pointing to Kraden, causing the old man to chuckle.

"Oh, I'm quite nomadic; I prefer good company to a good location, to be honest," Kraden replied, a twinkle in his eye.

"And don't worry about Imil; my Mom kicks butt," Rief said with a smile.

"Along with what the pi—Eoleo said," Amiti said, catching himself mid-sentence. "I think it's not unreasonable for us to visit our homes… but I personally would prefer to have SOME kind of lead as to stop the Eclipse before-hand. If we actually had the Umbra-Map, for instance, I would indeed want to visit Ayuthay and Champa."

"…But we don't know how long it might take to find it…" Matthew supplied weakly, but Amiti shook his head.

"If we went now," Amiti replied. "What would we say to those we met? We would have no way of showing our people that we were close to ending this menace. And we would have little-to-no way of protecting our peoples more so than they already could protect themselves, as we would only be stopping by. No, we should head to Tonfon first."

"What princey said," Eoleo added with a thumbs up, causing Amiti to roll his eyes.

"Okay, so, Tonfon then. Any objections?" Matthew asked, glancing around the room. Each member of the party was nodding in agreement, except… "Sveta, are you alright with the plan?" Sveta had been frowning when his eyes had landed on her, and she seemed none too happy with the situation.

She remained silent for a moment, before whispering, "I'm just worried. Sanans and Beastmen don't exactly get along. But don't fret about me, I'm sure it will be fine." She did not seem sure of her words in the slightest, and Matthew bit his lip.

"…Alright. Eoleo, set the course for Tonfon!" Matthew ordered, and Eoleo leapt up and saluted.

"Yes sir! I haven't been there since that raid in – I mean…" The pirate trailed off, scratching his head. "That… radical… that really… that… OKAY, FINE, IT WAS A RAID. I STOLE THINGS. I'M A PIRATE. STOP JUDGING ME!" Eoleo burst out, slamming his fist on the table as he glanced around at the accusatory looks the party was giving him.

"Oh, please," Amiti muttered with disdain. "You—"

"I grew up in a town where there was nowhere to farm, no fish to catch, nothing to use as trading goods, and where everyone on the continent already hated us," Eoleo replied scathingly. "My entire life, I've had to fight tooth and nail for every meal I ate, and haven't been willing to marry in fear that I could never give a woman the life she deserved. God forbid MY people had a freaking MAGIC machine that made the land around OUR town fertile and prosperous."

Amiti opened his mouth angrily to respond, but Eoleo slammed his fist on the table once more and continued before he got a change to. "And the Sanas are ten times worse than the Champa. Scum, they are. I plunder to survive. They've raped and burned and enslaved nearly everything and everyone around them. My people are poor as can be, and they make us pay taxes regardless, while they live the life of luxury in their damned cities. If we didn't pay they would squash us like a bug. Pity the Eclipse didn't reach them and make THEM feel what it's like to have your back against a wall." And with that, the pirate turned and stormed out of the room.

"You all should know," Kraden spoke, drawing the attention of the party, who was somewhat stunned by Eoleo's outburst. "That Eoleo spoke the truth. He has never lived an easy life, and nor has Champa the last few decades. They are honor bound as the last of an ancient tribe to guard the area around them, and as such have refused to move, leaving piracy as their only option for survival. My hope was that the Golden Sun would bring their lands fertile soil, or perhaps at least bring the fish back to their waters. But no; they still suffer and toil. I do not condone piracy, but I feel like Eoleo wouldn't do it if he didn't have to, and truth be told I doubt he is quite as prolific as people believe." The sage finished, leaving them to their thoughts.

"He's certainly right about Sana," Sveta hissed bitterly, her countenance angry. Matthew raised an eyebrow; he couldn't remember seeing Sveta truly angry before.

"I'm going to go apologize…" Amiti muttered, more to himself than anyone else, and quickly stood up and exited the room.

Karis bit her lip. "He'd better be careful…" She whispered, fearing what could happen in the apology turned sour.

"They'll be fine," Himi said soothingly, patting her on the back. "Eoleo isn't really mean, he just acts a little… piratey."

"How can you tell?" Inquired Karis, and the Venus Adept shrugged.

"He has a kind aura," She replied, and then turned to get off her chair. The resulting crash caused everyone to wince once again. "Oww…"

"Okay, we're getting you in bed, you need sleep," Karis said with a sigh, lifting Himi up at walking slowly toward the door.

"Sounds like a good idea," Tyrell said, moving very slowly off his chair as to not fall over. "I'll be in Matt and I's room, if anyone needs me."

"Kraden, mind if we go over some text I've been reading?" Rief asked, and Kraden nodded.

"That would be nice, Rief… let's go into the library, hmm?" He replied, glancing at Matthew, who was looking at Sveta worriedly. Rief was about to why they couldn't stay in the main cabin, but then realization struck him as he followed the sage's gaze, and nodded. They then exited, leaving Matthew and Sveta alone.

Matthew remained silent for a minute, waiting to see if Sveta would move to leave, or speak with him. She did neither, and eventually he coughed and asked, "Sveta… are you alright?"

Sveta breathed in deeply, and shook her head. Matthew frowned, and said, "If… if you're that worried of the reaction of the Sanans, you could always stay on the ship—"

"I'm just as worried about my reaction," She said bluntly, holding up her paw and flexing her claws. They bulged with muscle, and for the first time in a long while Matthew was reminded just how powerful the beastgirl was. "They murdered my parents, Matthew. Cut them down. And for what? _Nothing._ No reason, no explanation."

"Sveta…" Matthew began, but she shook her head.

"Eoleo was right: the Sanans were monsters, or at least they used to be. How unfair that this Eclipse rapes my home and country when the very reason my brother wanted to use it in the first place lays right in front of me, unscathed," She spat with venom, and Matthew sighed.

"Sveta, this isn't you. You have every right to hate them, but… you sound like the first Sanan you see you're going to cut down," He said, and grew worried as she barked out a laugh.

"It would be sweet, indeed," She purred darkly.

"And what of Ryu Kou and Hou Ju? You seem to like them, and—"

"They were children, just as I was," Sveta replied coldly. "They didn't deserve imprisonment or hatred; they knew not what their parents wrought."

"…And their parents? What—"

"IF THEIR PARENTS HAD WANTED TO LIVE THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT MY COUNTRY ALONE!" Sveta screamed, slamming her paw so hard down onto the table that it cracked. She turned to him, and seeing the fearful look on his face, shrunk into herself. "…I didn't mean to… I… I didn't want them to die, but they took my parents. They left me and my brother alone. And now, I don't even have him…" She burst into tears, sinking back into her chair, and Matthew pulled him into her.

For another minute, he simply held her, softly petting her as she cried. "It wasn't me," She whispered at last, as she clung to him. "I didn't want it… I didn't want any of it…"

"You blame them for the Eclipse, don't you?" Matthew asked stoically. She pulled back far enough so that she could look into his eyes. Her green eyes, always complex, took on a new level of depth at that moment; so many emotions rushed through them. Streams of anger, rivers of sorrow, torrents of memories.

"They made my brother into a monster," She whispered harshly, her claws beginning to drive into his flesh, a sensation he ignored. "He kept me at a distance, he wanted my hands to be clean. They made him kill someone's parents, made him slaughter all those Sanans. They made him just like them. It changed him. He had been so gentle… and then he became wracked with grief. So much so, he wouldn't even speak to me of it. He stopped thinking of himself, and tried to do everything to keep the war from rekindling. I know what he thought; he thought if he had such a powerful weapon, he would force the Sanans to never attack. The Tuaparang played him for a fool… and now he's…"

"He's one of the strongest warriors on all of Angara; he will survive, Sveta," Matthew whispered soothingly. In the back of his mind, his distaste for Sana grew, but not as much as his outright anger towards the Tuaparang. How many lives had they ruined with their trickery and lies?

"I'm afraid, Matthew," Sveta said, her sobbing decreasing. "Afraid of what I will do when I come face to face with those people. And I must confront them, regardless of what you say. I am the Princess of Morgal, and I will meet many Sanans over the course of my life. But I'm afraid, what if they spit at me? Call me names? I don't know if I can…"

Matthew grasped her hand, and whispered, "I'll be right there beside you, okay? If you need to block out anything, Spirit Sense me, and I will think of something happy, alright?"

"…Would you really? I don't want to be a nuisance…" She said, and he shook his head.

"It would be my pleasure. At the least, their king sounds very peaceful; I think Morgal and Sana won't have many wars in the future," Matthew replied, and she smiled before her ears fell low.

"Providing Morgal survives…" She muttered, but before he could offer comforting words, she asked, "Matthew? Am I a bad person? For those feelings?"

"Hmmm?" He asked, and she sighed.

"For wishing the Eclipse on Sana, and speaking in such a rage about them. I take it back, but… the fact that I would even say that. That I would wish that upon anyone… does that make me just as bad as them, or the Tuaparang?"

Matthew shook his head, and grasped her hand even tighter. "No, Sveta; what you say and what you do are two different things. You have to fight the way you feel, but I think it says everything about what kind of person you are that you were willing to do so much for Ryu Kou and Ho Jou even though they were Kuan's children. I think that, in time, you will see that just as they are good people, the same is true of many other Sanans."

"I hope so…" Sveta whispered, leaning into him once more. "And Matthew?" She turned to face him once more, and smiled her emerald eyes now clearly shining with joy. "Thank you." They kissed, and after it ended remained in an embrace, content to stay in each other's arms.

* * *

><p>"Try to rest, okay?" Karis said as Himi began to climb into the bed.<p>

"Ummm… Karis?" Himi began, but before she could continue, there was a knock on the door. "Oh, that's fine… go answer it!" Himi said, pulling the covers over herself, and Karis nodded.

She approached the door, and opened it to see Eoleo standing in the hallway, rubbing his head somewhat awkwardly. "Er… hey. A word?" He said, and Karis tilted her head in curiosity.

"Sure… let's go somewhere else though, and let Himi sleep," Karis replied, and Eoleo nodded. She then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her, and Himi let out a sigh.

"Thank Venus, I can get out of these clothes and sleep," She whispered to herself, beginning to strip down.

* * *

><p>"What did you want, Eoleo?" Karis asked blankly, as she was still slightly annoyed with the Mars Adept after the morning's events. He sighed then turned to her, and there was a look on his face she hadn't truly seen before; was it… regret?<p>

"I'm sorry, about this morning and all of that," He said, not meeting her eyes. "It didn't really strike me what I was doing… and I didn't think, you know, things would get so out of control. Truth be told, everyone's been a bit on edge lately, so I thought it might be nice to loosen you guys up, but… it was irresponsible. Won't happen again." He nodded as if to affirm the statement more to himself than to her, and turned to walk away.

"Eoleo," Karis began, causing him to halt. "It's not a big deal. I guess, you were kind of right…"

"About what?" He questioned, turning back to her, a slightly guilty expression still on his face.

"About me being a pissy drunk," She teased with a smile, punching him in the shoulder, and he smiled as well. "Just… try not to cook with rum again, okay?"

"Aye, aye, I've got ya," Eoleo replied, his demeanor much more upbeat. "You… eh, think she's okay, then?"

"Himi?" Karis questioned, and he nodded. "Yes, she seems fine. I actually am probably going to join her in a nap… so… thank you. For apologizing. I'm sorry I kind of gave you hell about it. I've been on edge, as you said."

"We all get as such at some point in our lives, Eoleo replied, stretching his arms. "Well… let me know if you ever want to talk, or, er… share a quart of rum?" He smiled brazenly, and she shook her head in disbelief, but smiled as well.

"Uh… the prior. Probably not the latter. But thank you for the offer," She said, and then turned, opening the door to the room.

"I had a feeling. Have a good nap!" Eoleo said, turning to walk down the hallway.

Karis smiled and said, "I will. I'll tell Himi and Sveta what you said."

"Mmmhmmm," He said absentmindedly as he walked somewhat jollily, and Karis giggled lightly. Once into the room, Karis began to make her way toward her bed, but then halted, and her eyes drifted to Himi's sleeping form. Surely Himi wouldn't mind if she joined her for her nap…

Karis lied down gently, slipping in between the covers. After she was settled in, she took the time to look over Himi's face; it was cherubic, in a sense, and while it usually held such seriousness to it, her youth showed through in her sleep. Karis slowly reached out her hand, and delicately stroked Himi's cheek. For a few seconds, the sleeping girl remained still, but after another moment, the young Yamatain stirred.

"Mmmmmm… hmmm? Karis? K-KARIS?" Himi at first seemed confused, but quickly sounded shocked.

"Oh… I'm sorry Himi, I just thought we could snuggle… do you not want — Himi?" Karis questioned, as the girl was taking her presence quite badly.

"Karis, I sleep in the nude!" Himi exclaimed, causing Karis's eyes to widen.

"So… right now… oh." Karis gulped, but then replied "So… we have three options."

"Uh… being?" Himi questioned, clearly very embarrassed.

"I get out of the bed, and sleep in my own," Karis said, her hand still on Himi's face. "You put your clothes on, and we snuggle…"

"But, Karis, I don't like sleeping with—"

"OR," Karis interrupted, poking Himi on the nose. "I join you, and take off mine as well." The Jupiter Adept winked seductively. "Am I'm feeling quiiite comfortable, so I think option one is off the table."

"….Close your eyes while I slip something on," Himi whispered, her face nearly as red as her irises. Karis giggled; it had been worth a shot, even if she wouldn't have gone through with it, and was certainly worth flustering Himi over.

* * *

><p>"Eoleo," Came Amiti's voice from behind the Mars Adept, causing him to grown.<p>

"Amiti, I really do not want to get into it, I'm actually in a good mood for once, so can you just—"

"I wanted to apologize," Amiti interrupted, and then, to Eoleo's infinite surprise, bowing. "I have never given you much of a chance; I have been taught my entire life that pirates are, well, to be honest, scum. But, the fact that you put sins on your own back to keep your town afloat… it's – I can't believe I'm saying this – but it's kind of noble."

Eoleo let out a chuckle, and shook his head. "I appreciate it Amiti. But I'll be honest with ye; I'm not that great of a guy."

Amiti raised an eyebrow, but waited for him to continue. "I've done a good deal for Champa, but some of it has been spoils. I've broken things for no reason to spread fear, I've taken more than necessary to live the life I've always dreamed of, and I'm not exactly polite, well-mannered, or exactly moral." Eoleo paused, and looked at Amiti to see his angry glare was back on in full force.

"But, I've done good things; I've helped other towns with little, and I've never stolen from those worse off than me, or those who were close. No; I've stolen from the rich bastards that have more than enough money, which, sadly, includes Ayuthay. No hard feelings; it was just business. And, hell, what do you think is going to happen when an eighteen year old boy gets his own ship? I raised hell, I'll admit it, but my father gave me a hard slapping for it every now and again, and I learned my lesson.

"I can't promise that I'm ever going to give up piracy, because I'll do what is right to help my people… and I can't help but love the looks on the faces of the rich dopes I rob when I have their treasure in my 'grimy and scurvy' claws." Eoleo paused for a brief and serene smile. "But if I can give it up, I will. I don't want this life forever, Amiti, and I've lived it long enough."

There was a long silence as Amiti started down Eoleo, his expression completely unreadable. Then, Amiti replied, "I cannot tell if you are a good person who does terrible things because of the situation they were put in, or a terrible person who does just enough good things to convince those around him that his behavior is overlookable."

Eoleo let out a large laugh, and patted the Mercury Adept on the shoulder, which made Amiti wince slightly. "Aye, you're not the first to say something along those lines," He responded. "I'd say I'm the prior, but I have my own line of sins, Amiti. I can understand if you still dislike me, I'd just like you to appreciate where I'm coming from."

"I… do," Amiti replied, his expression bittersweet. "I will, at the least, keep an open-mind about you and your position from now on. Perhaps, we can spend more time amongst each other, and in that time we can do less glaring and make less snide comments."

"I'd like that," Eoleo replied with a firm nod.

"And, Eoleo?" Amiti said, and then coughed. "If you do truly help us end this Eclipse, and prove to me your heart is in the right place… perhaps I could convince my Uncle to provided some aid to the nation of Champa."

Eoleo raised an eyebrow. "You serious?" Amiti nodded, and Eoleo smiled and said, "Well, hell! That would be great! In exchange… we could teach you all how to party!"

Amiti let out a groan, and Eoleo let out a hearty laugh, giving the Mercury Adept another loving back slap.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad to know my theories were correct," Rief commented to his instructor as he closed the large tome in front of him. "I have a question, though sir?"<p>

"Please, Rief," Kraden replied, reclining comfortably in a plush leather chair as his eyes scanned the books adjourning the shelves around him. He needed to remember to compliment Eoleo on the fact that he actually had a library on a pirate ship, and moreover that it was a fairly impressive library. Of course, most of the books were probably stolen, but at least they had been preserved. "Do not call me sir, we've known each other long enough for you to simply call me 'Kraden'."

"…Alright, Kraden," Rief answered, and cleared this throat. "Do you… think that the Umbra Map is really in Sana, and that we can get it from the Sanans if it is?"

"Ahhh, I was wondering when you would ask me more about the quest at hand," Kraden replied, readjusting his glasses. "I am fairly confident that the Sanans know where the Umbra Map is, but not sure if it will be in Tonfon. However, if they do, I believe Emperor Unan will give it to us. He is a scholar, thankfully; hopefully, once this Eclipse ends, Sana will resort to being more peaceful."

"That's a relief," Rief responded, heaving the tome back onto the shelf that he had taken it from. "…You think we'll be able to stop the Eclipse then, si—Kraden?"

Kraden paused, and breathed in deeply, causing Rief to grow slightly nervous. "Yes, I do Rief," The sage replied after a few moments. "But…" His brow narrowed, and Rief could tell he truly was worried. "I am afraid that we are still on the path the Tuaparang has laid out for us, and yet we cannot diverge from it."

"Chalis and Blados certainly are dangerous," Rief stated, sitting down at the libraries table. He glanced at his mentor to see a very odd look plastered across his face.

"That they are," Kraden replied with a sigh. "But I fear that when all said and done, Arcanus is manipulating them as well, and that we have little to no way to tell what on Weyard his motives are. Alas, it is fated that we must continue onward; we shall go toward the darkness, and hopefully find that the light at its end is everything we need it to be."

* * *

><p><em>Finished: 11:38 PM. I need to get better at making this schedule run. Especially since I have so much crap this week. Fair warning; this might be the first week that I am forced to post a fic on Thursday rather than Wednesday. But enough about that.<em>

_I enjoyed writing this chapter in some occasions, but sadly half of it seemed to just be me on auto-pilot. I worry that that will show. That being said, I really did like some parts of it; it had two of my favorite lines in the story so far (Tyrell: "MOTOR BOAT THAT SHIT!" and Rief: "My Mom kicks butt"), and I'm glad I got to spread out the character love more evenly. I think everyone in this chapter has some relative important moment besides Tyrell. Alas._

_How was the dialogue? I can never make it that perfect blend between flowing and interesting, I feel like it came out too boring. I also am worried that a few character moments here were a little rushed, namely Eoleo and Sveta's outburst. Both had been slightly hinted at (Sveta's less so), but they were things that needed to happen. The Amiti/Eoleo side-plot won't be very prolific, but it's kind of impossible to do a Dark Dawn fic without saying "yeah, they dislike each other". Figure I might as well try to make them civic :P ._

_I'm kind of biting myself in the ass for saying in earlier chapters that Matthew and Sveta weren't close; they were, just they kind of got awkward around each other once Karis/Sveta happened, and both weren't sure of the others feelings. Which is why this scene features them acting as such._

_This fic needs more Himi, and thankfully more Himi it will get next chapter! Said chapter will be about their explorations of Tonfon, beginning with their meeting with Unan, and then some dating, shopping, and sneaking around to get the Echo Gem. At least, that's the tentative plan; it might be a two parter, that's a lot of plot. I'm excited for it. This should have been posted last night, but Doc Manager refused to load . . It's up now though.  
><em>

_I know I'm forgetting to mention something, but what the hell, I need sleep. Hope you enjoyed reading!_


	8. Wars Past and Present

_LATE. GAH. One day, but still. I'm not sure if I can get AGS updated by Wednesday… then again, the last time I doubted its release date I posted a day early. Sooo… take that with a grain of salt._

_The plot is finally starting to move a little bit, at least in this chapter; this fic does mirror Dark Dawn somewhat, but as you can see I play with a lot of what is considered Canon and such, in some ways. Let's just say I would go about certain events and character interactions a lot differently that Camelot did. I'll let that sit for now, so here is the chapter!_

Chapter 8: Wars Past and Present

* * *

><p>"Wow." It was a statement that ran through most of the party's minds, but Karis was the one who put it into words, or in this case a word. It was quite a fitting way to describe the metropolis sprung out before them. Numerous waterways channeling here and there; barges occupying them, filled with merchants, commoners, nobles, and even what looked like tourists; ancient stone sculptures adjourned the walls and paths; bridges and archways looping and dancing across the city; and finally, on the horizon stood the palace, large and powerful.<p>

Even those among them who had seen Tonfon before could not but help marvel at its majesty. Some despised that majesty, knowing its roots, but both the beastgirl and pirate held their tongues, allowing the others to enjoy the moment.

"I never believed I would travel to a modern city that rivaled my home," Amiti whispered, awestruck.

"It makes Kalay look poor," Tyrell whispered, earning a quick and angry glance from Eoleo that the pirate drew back before anyone could notice.

They had arrived, knowing well they may have issues docking, but it had gone surprisingly smooth; the Sanans had been warm and welcoming, even to Eoleo and Sveta, and had let them dock free of charge for however long they wished, unless space became needed.

"This is going too well," Eoleo whispered to Sveta as the others advanced, their mouths still open and their eyes still wide.

"I wish I could say I smell a trap," Sveta replied, her green eyes scanning the surrounding area at a meticulous pace. "But I do not. I expected to find a stronghold of rich fools who would target us on sight, but I find the opposite."

"…I find it hard to believe a simple civil war led to an entire nation of war-mongering ass hats becoming nice people," Eoleo said, still unsure.

Sveta pointed to the West, toward the Eclipse, and said with a good deal of bite, "That simple civil war led to that." Eoleo shrugged, and they moved forward into the group.

"Okay, everyone," Matthew said, breaking out from the circle and standing to address the party. "We've obviously arrived… I'm sure it's very tempting for all of us to want to explore the city, and I'm up for that occurring; after we speak to Lord Unan about the Umbra Map."

"The sooner the better then!" Tyrell exclaimed, clearly enticed by the notion of wandering the city.

"Does everyone agree that should be our course of action?" Matthew asked, and after universal nodding, he smiled. "Okay; let's make our way to the palace!"

The party had no shortage of sights to see as they made their way to the palace; Rief and Karis were among the most drawn in by the city's splendor.

"And look at all the water!" Rief said, jabbing Sveta, who was trying to listen patiently; anything was better than checking every passerby's face for a scowl or cursing lips she was sure she would find. Of course, she would prefer to talk to Matthew, if he wasn't engaged with Tyrell. "Mom needs to visit here… she would love it. As a Mercury Adept, I can't believe I've never thought of this! The architects in this city are geniuses!"

"…Yes, I suppose," Sveta replied hesitantly, and Rief frowned.

"It must be hard for you, Sveta, seeing everyone so in awe of a city that had caused you such pain… I apologize," Rief said solemnly, and she frowned as well.

"It's hard not to admire the aesthetic values presented to us, but as the phrase goes, don't judge a book by its cover," She responded, trying to force a reassuring smile. "I'm honestly waiting to meet this Lord Unan. The people around us seem quite fond of him."

Indeed, much of the conversation they heard around them was of the fledging ruler and his new decrees and so-forth. Whether or not that was a good sign or bad, it was hard to tell, as they often only caught snippets of conversations, and not even Sveta could make much out with the constant barrage of noise, but what she did hear sounded positive.

"I've always imagined I'd like to live somewhere windy, but I could get used to here," Karis whispered, and Himi smiled.

"It is quite pleasant, isn't it? It has a much nicer aura this time, too," The Yamatain remarked, casually observing much of the city as they walked.

"Oh… you've been here before?" Karis questioned, and Himi nodded.

"Yes, my father took Takeru and I here when he came to negotiate with Sana, and Emperor Ko," Himi said with some disdain. "I fear that Sveta and Eoleo were quite right; this empire used to be quite bloody and barbaric. But it seems they have changed; even with the Eclipse weakening the sun, Tonfon seems much brighter and more cheery than I recall it being."

"You'll have to show me the best places to eat… and all the romantic views!" Karis teased, nudging Himi with her elbow before slyly taking her hand in her own.

Himi smiled, and replied, "If you are trying to go romantic, I'd recommend one of the late-night barge rides; we can knock the bargeman out with your Sleep spell, and proceed to go wherever we please in the city." It was a half joke, as she would indeed enjoy another boat-ride through Tonfon.

"Besides the knocking out the bargeman thing, that sounds nice!" Karis joked, squeezing Himi's hand. "I'm sure we'll have time later tonight. We'll have to be careful though; not to rock the boat." Himi giggled; she had always imagined she would be quite terrible at flirting, but somehow Karis made it happen very naturally.

"…So, you've been here before?" Amiti asked Eoleo, attempting to strike up a conversation.

"Aye; to negotiate taxation for Champa," Eoleo replied gruffly, clearly not too fond that he was back in the city.

"…I've been wondering, why has Sana let Champa continue its piracy? Surely it affects Tonfon and other Sanan towns and cities?" Amiti asked, ever-mindful of politics, as he one day would be king of Ayuthay.

"That's what the tax is; a piracy tax," Eoleo replied with a slight smirk. "They realized they weren't going to be able to stop us, and figured they might as well get in on the spoils."

Amiti tried to hold the look of utter disgust off his face, but it was quite obvious he failed by Eoleo's chuckle. "But, Eoleo," Amiti continued, after taking a few moments to cool down. "You mentioned raiding Sana; wouldn't they take badly to that?"

"Oh, they did at first," Eoleo replied, his smile widening. "Dumb shits didn't say we couldn't steal from them, so we continued to do so. They got real pissed, sent an entire fleet at us."

"…Oh my," Amiti whispered, picturing the small nation against the warships of Sana. "How did you survive?"

"Oh, we had no casualties or damage," Eoleo replied matter-of-factly.

"H-How?" Amiti asked, and Eoleo let out a dry chuckle.

"Great-Grandma summoned a dragon," Eoleo said with a great grin.

"A-A dragon! Amiti shouted, causing some heads to turn in both their party and among passerby.

"Oh yeah," Eoleo replied, a dreamy look in his eyes. "I told you not to mess with that old lady. Tough as nails and probably tougher than the hammer that pounds them in. She set fire to half their ships, sank two, and held their general at knife point until he signed an agreement to never attack Champa again. We've stolen from them liberally ever since."

"…The people of Champa are certainly resourceful," Amiti noted, with a surprising twinge of respect in his voice.

"We get by," Eoleo replied, with a nod, and both fell silent. The party continued walking for another few minutes, the palace growing closer and closer as they walked. It was not until much later that they finally reached its steps, and approached its gates.

As common with these situations, Matthew took the lead, preparing to do quite a bit of negotiating in order to find his way into the palace. The guards looked quite stoic and were well-armored from head to toe.

Sveta clenched her fists as they neared; the armor they wore was all too familiar. The only missing feature was her parents' blood splattered upon the iron breastplates and tall lances. She could not help herself; a bated growl sounded in her throat, attracting the attention of both guards as well as the rest of the party.

"Sveta," Matthew whispered, placing his hand in her paw and opening them with his fingers. He did not wince as her claws cut into his hand, more concerned for her than pain.

Sveta's growl grew louder, as if to warn him to leave her alone, until the blood caught her attention when it trickled onto her skin. "Oh! Oh Matthew! I apologize, here!" Sveta whispered worriedly. She cast a Boon as she retracted her claws, healing his wounds quickly. Inexplicably, all her anger and wariness dissipated at that very moment.

"…You are Adepts?" One of the guards asked, causing Sveta's head to swivel at inhuman speed to face the two of them.

"Yes, we are," She whispered flatly, lowering her hand, which was still grasping Matthew's. "What of it?"

"His highness has been searching for Adepts to stop the calamity attacking the land," One of the soldiers replied, clearly beginning to grow weary of Sveta's aggressive attitude.

"It would be quite Sana-like to be obsessed with all that is occurring within the continent, wouldn't it," She replied mockingly. Matthew frowned at this, and was about to try to placate her when Karis spoke.

"We would like to see the Emperor, if that is possible; we would like to help, and have some idea on how to stop the Eclipse," She said calmly and firmly, stepping in front of the party.

"…Well, you are Adepts, so I suppose we cannot deny you," One of them whispered slowly, eyeing Sveta as he spoke. The beastgirl looked ready to pounce, so much so that the soldier slightly readied his lance, before Karis spoke again.

"How dare you," She whispered harshly, her arm shooting forward and grabbing the man by the chest before he could even react. "My friend has suffered enough at the hands of your people; she is one of the most powerful and honorable members of our party. I've heard among your streets that Lord Unan is seeking to destroy the racism your country is so known for. Maybe he'd be interested to hear about this little incident."

"S-She's threatening me!" The guard shouted, but his mate shook his head, and calmed the flustered soldier with a pat on his back.

"It's going to take time for the people of Morgal to forgive us for what our country has done to them, Ano," The guard said. "I trust she is simply wary of us because of the past; we cannot expect to mend relationships by glaring down every beastman we come across. They have equal rights in our city now." The other soldier took this advice with a bitter nod, while Sveta's shoulders sunk.

Both Karis and Matthew eyed her with concern, but after a moment Matthew replied, "Thank you; I'm glad to see you feel that way. If that's all taken care of, we'll enter now." The guard nodded, quickly explaining the direction to Unan's throne room, and then wished them luck.

As they walked through the palace, many in the party admiring the fantastic architecture and decorations, Matthew turned to Sveta, who still seemed dejected. "…Sveta? Are you alright?"

She took a few moments to speak, and when she did, it was in such a pitiful voice that it nearly made his eyes water, "When that soldier spoke to the other one, the one who didn't want to let me in, I read that soldier's mind. When the one referred to the 'People of Morgal', the other thought, 'If you could even call them people'." Matthew's face sunk, as he searched for comforting words, but was interrupted by the voice of a man, who was standing next to the empty throne.

"Ah, greetings!" He said kindly. He was old, and dressed in robes; most likely an advisor of some sort. "I take it you are all here to see Lord Unan, then?"

Matthew nodded, replying, "Yes, we're Adepts who believe we can stop the Eclipse." A brief shadow fell onto the man's face, as oft occurred when the black menace was mentioned, before he nodded vigorously.

"Through the door to your left, then," The old man said, and they all nodded in thanks, beginning to walk by. As they did so, he glanced at Sveta, and said, "Miss, you have such gorgeous eyes."

Sveta, caught completely unawares, turned quickly in surprise, and stared at the man. "…My eyes?"

"Yes; such a beautiful green," He whispered with a smile. "Beastwomen always have the most beautiful eyes. I never thought I would get to them again in my lifetime, but thankfully Lord Unan has tried to do away with… past traditions." He scowled briefly. "Some people here may be a bit harsh still, but not most. My apologies if you ran into any such issues."

"How could you tell?" She asked plainly, and he sighed.

"You seemed quite dejected, and I know one of the guards has a thing for picking on beastmen," The old man replied with a slight bow. "Forgive him; he is young, and still foolish. He lost his father in the war, you see… terrible thing, that. After this Eclipse ends, we must do all we can for peace."

Sveta regarded him oddly, her emotion masked behind her face. "Thank you, I wish for peace as well," She said finally, and with a curt bow walked past.

Karis trailed behind slightly as the others made their way to the door, and whispered, "Thank you… she needed that, I think," to the old man, who grinned happily in return.

They entered to find a young woman standing in front of an open doorway, which led to a room occupied by a regal man sitting at a great wooden desk. "Lord Unan," Matthew whispered rhetorically.

The man turned to them at this, a pensive look crossing his face. He scanned the party (Sveta letting out a tense sigh as his eyes paused upon her), his eyes eventually falling on Kraden.

"…Do my eyes deceive me, or are you Kraden, the master sage?" Unan asked politely, and Kraden smiled.

"Why, yes; I am indeed Kraden the sage, and can appreciate that somehow, over time a 'master' has worked its way into that title as well," Kraden replied, with a gentle laugh.

"The honor is all mine. Tonfon is blessed to have such a world-renown sage within our city. I was informed by a man I'm aware you know by the name of Piers that you and your friends would be arriving shortly. May I inquire the name of the rest of your party?" Unan asked politely. Each member of the party introduce themselves in turn, Unan smiling at most of the introductions and commenting on each of their heritages, all of which were notable. Only when Eoleo hastily claimed he was no one did Unan pause, a small look of concern in his eyes, but in the end the Emperor moved on without incident.

Of course, he found it as soon as he laid his eyes upon Sveta, who asked bitterly, "And, pray tell, do you know who I am, King of Sana?" His title was spoken with direct mocking, eliciting slight gasps out of some of the party.

Only Matthew and Karis seemed unsurprised, and as Matthew moved to stop Sveta from continuing, Karis barred his way. She sent him a foreboding look, and shook her head. Matthew bit her lip, but followed her lead.

"…I could make an educated guess," Unan mused, his expression unreadable.

"You would probably be correct, but let's remove all doubt," Sveta laughed coldly, suddenly undoing part of her clothing. The action was met with surprise amongst all in the room, besides Karis, who remained decidedly grave. She had pulled back her shirt, revealing her stomach; it was covered in her light lilac fur, and smooth but muscular. It held no flaw besides a long white scar on her right side.

"…Sveta Czamaral," Unan whispered. Sveta smiled savagely.

"A Sanan soldier gave me this, right before he did the same to my mother, except he decided one wasn't enough for her," She hissed, slowly approaching the Emperor, who remained still. "If it weren't for my brother biting the bastard's arm off, he would have done much worse to her corpse; like my father. At least I didn't have to see my mother's shredded body in an open casket funeral, though; YOUR FUCKING KINGDOM THREW HER IN A FIELD WITH THE REST OF MY DEAD PEOPLE AND SET THEIR BODIES ON FIRE!"

The silence that echoed was stifling. It had been made clear in the last few days that Sveta held deep feelings of resentment toward Sana, and everyone understood that Sana had caused her parents' deaths, but none knew the exact circumstances. None besides Karis, who watched Sveta carefully, praying the beastgirl wouldn't do something she would regret. Sveta had spoken often to her about the feelings of hatred she felt for Sana, and Karis had done her best to sway them; that was, if they deserved to be swayed. Karis was still very much so interested in seeing whether or not any of this so called peace-talk was anything more than political pandering.

"…Sveta," Matthew began, only beginning to realize her intense feelings against Sana for the first time, and knowing that Unan was incredibly important to their quest. "Please, I understand that—"

"I will NOT save this world only to watch an unscathed Sana turn its gaze to Morgal and cut its throat as it lays crippled," Sveta growled.

Matthew grimaced, attempting to find words to calm her, but instead felt Karis's hand on his back. He gazed into her purple eyes, her expression similar to his own; scared, worried. "She has to do this, Matthew. Let her do what she must," Karis spoke, and then turned back toward the beastgirl without waiting for an answer. Matthew's gaze lingered on Karis for another moment, before he turned to view the Princess and the Emperor once more.

"You will speak to me of the crimes your country has committed, and give me reason not to sever your head and rape your kingdom as you have mine," Sveta began, now directly in front of Unan's desk. "For while I may not hold that power, THAT," She pointed toward the West, signifying the Eclipse, "Could very well destroy you, and we are the only ones who can stop it. Do not bother lying to me; I can sense your spirit."

"Morgal has suffered greatly at the hands of Sana; there is no denying it," Unan replied slowly and softly. "I am a man of peace. I despised the civil war that occurred, on both fronts. I fought it because, as I'm sure you know, Emperor Wo would have been just as if not more destructive and war-mongering than Ko was. And yet, what can I say?" Unan rose, looking directly into the beastgirl's eyes.

"Just as nothing your brother could do will bring my brother back, nothing that I can do will bring your parents or those lost in Sana's unfortunate occupation of your country back. I am attempting to spread peace, to change the Sana you know. All I can offer you is the promise of an extended hand of friendship, and the promise that Sana will never attack Morgal again. Perhaps, we can instead grow close as nations, and help each other."

"You would seek our help? Have you seen my country?" Sveta spat, ignoring the offer of peace in front of her. "What will be left in the months that we spend trying to end this tragedy? Little."

"What do you want from me, then?" Unan asked firmly. "It seems as if all you seek is vengeance, and pity. I will give you the latter, but I cannot admit fault for the prior."

"Your brother died because he occupied my country. My parents died for no reason; none whatsoever, only Sana's blind lust. My brother may very well be dead because he sought to defend himself from your country."

"…Are you saying you blame Sana for the Eclipse?"

"Indirectly. But that is not my main point; and that I shall reveal. It pains me to say this, as you seem to be a good man, and have spoken the truth. But, I cannot simple accept your word, and so I must resort to this threat." Sveta's face was solemn, as she plainly said, "If Sana ever attacks my country again, I will let loose the Eclipse once more."

"…So this was Morgal's doing, then?" Unan asked cautiously.

"My brother believed it to be a weapon, and sought to use it as a deterrent. He was fooled by the Tuaparang," Sveta whispered, and Unan's brow narrowed.

"The Zenith tribe?" He asked, and she nodded. "Yes, I have seen their trail through Weyard as of late. I believed they were dangerous… but not this dangerous." He paused. "Sveta?" She nodded once more, and he cleared his throat. "May I speak to you for a moment as not the Emperor of Sana, but as a human being?"

Sveta stared at him oddly for several moments, before replying, "I can't see why not."

Unan frowned, and lowered his head. "I do not believe for a moment that you would willingly ever place this curse upon our land. I believe that you are still badly scarred by the death of your parents, and feel helpless to protect the rest of the people that mean something to you in your life. You and I are not different; I feel the same for my brother, and his children who are still missing. I'm sorry." Unan closed his eyes and Sveta raised an eyebrow as tears leaked from his sealed eyelids.

"I'm so sorry. Nothing can bring them back, and I wish something could. I wish none of this had ever happened, and I wished I would have sent for my brother to return immediately as civil war occurred. I know you may not believe me, but we had plans to release Morgal; to give your brother the throne and your country its sovereignty. I do not blame you for your hatred, or for your anger. I only wish I could help. All I can do is promise you, from the bottom of my heart, that I meant what I said. I will help your country, and will not, in any circumstances, bring harm to you. I promise, as both the Emperor of Sana, and a human being."

Sveta remained silent for a good minute; all else in the party did not speak as well, unable to see her face and expression. Finally, she whispered, "I believe you… and I wish Lord Kuan was still alive with us as well. You called my bluff." She smiled, a smile laced in melancholy. "I have no way to start the Eclipse again, or at least not that I know of. I am simply tired of war, and of my loved ones being destroyed before my very eyes. No matter how old I grow, no matter how much more powerful I become, it seems every time tragedy strikes I am weak and unable to change the course of my life.

"I believe you, Lord Unan. I believe we are finally near peace. All that stands in our way is that." She pointed once more to the Eclipse, and Unan nodded.

"I am glad; I was honestly concerned that we would not be able to come to an agreement. I wish for peace, and am prepared to help you obtain it. So, what can I do for you?" Unan asked, and Matthew stepped forward.

Giving Sveta a comforting pat on the shoulder, he then turned to Unan and asked, "We need the ancient map of Morgal. We need the ancient Umbra Gear to activate the Apollo Lens; without it, we have no way to stopping the Eclipse."

Unan frowned, and replied, "We have a piece of the Umbra Gear, amongst other treasures that I shall bestow upon you; anything to stop the Grave Eclipse. However… Lord Kuan held the map. And since his passing, I assume it would be in the hands of his son… Ryu Kou."

The entire party gasped, minus Sveta, and Unan raised an eyebrow. "I was getting to that…" Sveta whispered. "Ryu Kou and Hou Ju are, for all we know, still alive, Lord Unan. We last saw them fleeing the Eclipse from Belinsk, and it's entirely possible that they survived. Based on their head-start, I'd say fairly likely."

"…You knew who they were?" Tyrell asked incredulously as an expression of relief crossed Unan's face.

"Yes," Sveta replied sharply. "They did not wish others to, so I did not tell you. I'm sorry." Tyrell frowned, but said no more.

"…Thank the Gods that they are alive," Lord Unan whispered. "We sent out search parties but… none have returned. Please… if you find them, bring them back home."

"We will try our best; we need that map, and… you deserve to see them again," Matthew replied, and Lord Unan shook his head.

"Their mother is more of a pressing concern. She will be pleased to know they may be alive, and hopefully we may find them soon," He said, and they all nodded. "On that note, I shall give you leave. May the Gods looked down upon you, and may you end this terror. Thank you for your bravery. And Sveta… I'm glad we have met, and reached an understanding." Sveta smiled in return, and while it held some remorse, some happiness shone through as well.

As they exited, each member of the party alternated glancing between Matthew and Sveta; Matthew in wonder of what their next course of action was, and Sveta to see how she was feeling after her confrontation with Lord Unan. As they walked, Matthew once again held Sveta's hand, to show his support. She flashed a smile at the gesture, before reverting back into herself; he could tell that the meeting had severely strained her.

Karis watched the pair with a dim smile, and some longing. However, before she lost herself down that road once more, she sent a smile towards Himi, who returned it brightly.

"Okay, so," Matthew began after they had exited the palace, and had somewhat huddled in front of him. "That… went well, I think." He spared a glance at Sveta, who did not meet his eyes. "As promised, we'll spend the rest of the day here; we should do some useful things, but it would be nice to relax a little on land for once. I suggest we split into pairs."

"Before we go down that route, Matthew, what do you suspect we should do in regards to our quest?" Kraden asked intently, and Matthew turned to him.

"To be honest, I'd like to think over our next course of action for a bit… I'm willing to hear any suggestions, but for now I think we should focus on getting supplies and the such," Matthew replied, and Kraden and most of the others nodded in agreement. "So… I think I'll go with Sveta if that's okay with her; we can try to gather information about this map of Morgal as well as Tonfon and the Endless Wall's history." Sveta gave the smallest of nods, and Matthew frowned slightly.

"Tyrell, would you be interested in gathering some food?" Amiti asked, and Tyrell shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" The Mars Adept replied with a nod.

"Karis and I will… er… go clothes shopping," Himi whispered with a giggle, and Tyrell rolled his eyes. Girls and their clothes; he just didn't get it.

"I'm going to do what I do best; scour!" Eoleo shouted proudly. "I'll search for some Djinn and items and the like. If I find anything good in the shops, I'll let you guys know." Amiti breathed a sigh at the knowledge Eoleo would not be stealing items for them.

"What about you two — want to come with?" Eoleo asked Rief and Kraden, the prior of which shrugged, and the latter of which nodded.

"Certainly! I've been meaning to ask you more about Champa; it's been too long since I've been there," Kraden replied, with Rief nodding along unsurely. As long as Eoleo didn't start spouting off about his Mom again, he guessed it would be fine.

"Alright," Matthew said, glancing around at everyone. "We'll meet back at the ship by dark, or stay at the inn if you feel like it; either way, we depart tomorrow morning." With that, the group dispersed, almost all eager to explore Tonfon, the city that was the jewel of all of Sana.

* * *

><p><em>As much as I love Sveta, and try to write her as gentle, she definitely, in my mind, has a strong backbone, and we see it in this chapter; her entire family has been taken from her virtually by Sana, along with her country and people. She has to deal with that vengeance, rather than just let it dissipate. This was one of my biggest issues with Dark Dawn; you have the princess of Beastmen who recently killed one of your leaders and many of your soldiers, and you're just fine with her being in your city? And no tension between her and any Sanans? I understand her feeling toward Ryu Kou and Hou Ju, but to the rest of Sana, I would except more bitterness. At the least, it appears here.<em>

_This chapter wasn't supposed to be so Sveta-specific, but out of all the characters to have a character moment in Tonfon, obviously it's going to be her. The next chapter will be more balanced._

_On that note, I feel like I'm getting to a point with this story where the characterization is mapped out well enough along with most of the character relationships that I can fairly easily put a lot of the characters in interesting conversations and the such. That's what the beginning of the chapter was supposed to be._

_This is a bit short for what I wanted, but this is such a clear cut off point, that I took it. The next chapter will be very large and very splintered, as each group is followed. It might wind up being two parts, making the Tonfon arc a three parter. Which I wouldn't mind, in all honesty._

_Next chapter will definitely though feature some Himi. That's my biggest issue with this fic; I can't decide if I want Matthew, Karis, Sveta, or Himi to be the main character. Okay, I'm exhausted, so I'm done. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it._

_Edit: Yeah, just realized the chapter heading said chapter seven when it was eight. Whoooops...  
><em>


	9. City of Marvels, Pt 1

_Here we go. Only… what, five days late :P ? At least this three day weekend gives me the time to unscrew up my schedule, and get everything updated that needs to be updated. I have no real excuse for the delays; if my general chapter length is between 5,000 and 6,000 words (which I would say it is), and I can write 1,000 words in a half-hour (this is true, I timed it), I should be able to write most of these in three hours, and since I (figuratively) have about three days between every posting, with one hour a day (and an extra hour the last day for editing), I should be able to get each of these done on time. We'll see how that works out. I'll stop boring people with math._

_I like this chapter; a bit more lighthearted than that more recent ones, which is nice. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: City of Marvels, Pt 1<p>

"What about this one?" Himi asked, holding up yet another dress. Karis's eyes shifted from the blue bracelet clamped around her wrist to the oriental garment dangling for Himi's hands. It was certainly very pretty – a dazzling wave of purples dark and light, some slashing in contrast, some fading into the other shades – and Karis immediately felt a longing toward it. She imagined it would fit her quite well, and –

_ It's ridiculously expensive,_ Karis thought as her eyes finally landed on the price-tag. "Oh… it's really cute," Karis said, trying to sound indifferent but unable to keep the interest completely out of her voice.

Himi bit her lip, staring over the dress herself. She had really thought that, at least this time, Karis would like it. "I'm sorry if I'm not the best to shop with… I'm just picking out what I think you'd like," The Venus Adept replied softly, placing the dress back on the rack she had picked it from.

"No! It's not that! Just…" Karis really didn't want to say that it was too pricey out loud, as it would no doubt make Himi self-conscious. It wasn't that Karis wasn't well off; she and her father got along very well. It's just that they weren't loaded, as Himi seemed to be. Being a princess had its perks, after all.

"You don't have to lie Karis," Himi said with a shrug, beginning to look through some more dresses. "I probably have odd taste in clothing since most of the clothes I've owned or have seen have been from Yamata, and nowhere else."

"I actually love the dress…" Karis whispered, trying to move in closer so that neither of the clerks could hear her. "It's just, you know, expensive." She tried to smile reassuringly, but her statement seemed to throw Himi slightly off.

"Ah…" The younger girl replied with a cough. "How foolish of me." Karis was already prepared to state that it was no big deal and that maybe they should try a different store when Himi continued in a firm voice, saying, "I forgot to mention that I shall be purchasing everything we decide to buy. So, you would like the dress, then?"

"Oh. Yes." Karis replied shortly, her eyes wide. "Thanks, Himi… that's very generous of you… I wonder when I'll get a chance to wear it." Normally Karis would have been quite unwilling to let someone buy something so costly for her, but Himi's tone had made it clear that the dress was getting bought whether Karis liked it or not. Truth be told, she liked it… far be it for her to stop others from buying her nice things. In moderation, of course.

"…The bracelet as well?" Himi asked, and Karis smiled.

"Oh… no, I was thinking about getting it for you, actually," She said, removing it from her own wrist and handing it to Himi. "It's a nice sky-blue; you remind me of the sky."

Himi received the bracelet with a smile, but then teased, "You know, some Venus Adepts may take it as an offense to be compared to the sky. We're very grounded people, you know."

"Oh, please," Karis replied with a mock eye roll. "I guess that makes me the wind and sky, and volatile, then?"

"Oh, yes; you Jupiter Adepts are crazy. Completely nuts. Can't even decide whether or not you like a dress or not," Himi responded with a giggle, and Karis lightly punched her in the shoulder.

Wearing an amused grin, the older girl replied, "Hey! I said I liked it, I was just trying to be conscientious about our money…"

"You know at this very moment that Tyrell is purchasing enough food to feed a horse for a month and will probably eat most of it himself in two weeks, right?" The younger girl said, shaking her head at the thought of such rampant gluttony. "And I'd be willing to bet that, despite already having a king's ransom (and I wouldn't bet against some of his store actually being thieved from royalty) Eoleo is buying copious amounts of… liquor," Himi retorted, her face scrunching at the mention of alcohol.

Karis giggled, and said, "Not a fan of the devil's potion?" as they walked over to the clerk and Himi began to search her pockets for her handmade purse.

"Do you remember yesterday?" Himi asked rhetorically, squinting her eyes as the vague memories of her drunken excursion filled her head. "My father always used to drink right before he read me bedtime stories, too. I dealt with it for five years until I grew the nerve to mention that I detested the smell of liquor on his breath."

"Ah, so he stopped?" Karis asked as Himi put forth the payment in coins before slipping her red purse back into her robes' folds.

"No," Lamented Himi, placing the bracelet around her wrist and handing the dress to Karis. "He got my mother to do it instead for three years. Then he had an unfortunate incident where he, in a drunken state, managed to climb to the top of Mt. Mikage… and proceeded to fall all the way down."

Karis winced; while Ivan himself had never climbed Gaia Rock, she had heard enough stories from Jenna about the four elemental rocks to imagine that it was quite a fall. "He broke his arm, his leg, and was bed-ridden for a few weeks… at which point my mother made him give up alcohol, and he began to read to me again!" Himi smiled and shrugged. "I like to think that's a happy ending, anyway."

Karis was about to laugh when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement coming from behind them. Suddenly, a man quickly dashed in between them, leaving Himi dazed and Karis slightly off-kilter as well. Her eyes lit up when she noticed a red object in the man's hands; Karis had spent enough time in the streets of Kalay to know how a pick-pocketer performed their business.

"Oh no you don't!" She cried out, taking an inhumanly quick step toward the scoundrel and then throwing her arm out, catching his ponytail in her hand, and pulling him straight to the ground. The man let out a sound of pain comparable to a walrus dying as his hair was tugged, and simply laid on the floor after his head and upper body collided with it.

"Oh my!" Himi exclaimed as Karis non-chalanty held the young girl's purse out to her. Himi took it after a moment, quickly looking through it before putting it back into her pocket.

"Scum," Karis growled, giving the man's body a quick kick for good measure.

"That was spectacular, miss!" The male clerk at the counter said, awestruck. "I will go fetch some of our public officials to arrest him!" The man quickly ran off, and the female clerk smiled at them fondly.

"Oh, don't feel obligated to stay; I don't think he looks like he's getting up anytime soon," She said with a slight bow, and Karis shrugged. "O-Oh my! He had even taken off with some of our finest jewelry!" The clerk said a moment later, and Karis glanced down to see, sure enough, glittering gems leaking out of the robber's pockets. "…That's a small fortune. If you hadn't been here… this was your payment for the dress and bracelet, yes?"

She pointed to the coins that lied on the counter; the other clerk had not had time to put them away before the near-robbery had occurred. Himi and Karis both nodded, and the clerk smiled. "Here; take it back, you saved us much more than that with these gems."

"Oh, no, I couldn't…" Himi began, but sighed as the clerk insistently grabbed and held the coins out in front of her. "…Thank you for your generosity. I'm glad we – er, Karis – could help."

As they left the shop, Karis giggled. Himi raised an eyebrow, and the Jupiter Adept, smiling widely, teased, "You're much too modest; if you hadn't been so robbable, I never could have caught him!"

"Hey!" Himi shouted in mock protest, and they both shared a warm laugh. "Well, where shall we be off to next?"

"I was thinking we should go outside the city for a bit, you know?" Karis supplied, and Himi shrugged. The Jupiter Adept had spent much too long on that cramped ship, and was anxious to stretch her legs for the first time in weeks. "Come on – let's run!" Himi didn't even get a chance to respond before Karis's hand grasped her own, and she suddenly found herself being pulled through the city streets, nearly crashing into numerous passerby. After bumping into a bird cage, knocking over a man carrying a large amount of fruit, and nearly running into one of the waterways, Himi had dealt with enough.

"Karis! I can't move this fast! Could we slow down?" Himi shouted so the speeding bullet of Jupiter in front of her would hear.

"Oh, sorry! Yeah, hop on!" Karis shouted back, and Himi wrinkled her nose for a brief moment, wondering what on earth her crush was talking about before she found herself decidedly off the earth and on Karis's back. "Hold on tight!" Karis said happily, clearly enjoying the high speed rush. Himi was more than happy to oblige, gripping her arms around Karis's chest tightly in absolute fear of what would happen if she fell off.

It took a few minutes of calming down and several winks from Karis before she realized exactly where her arms and hands were, and with a blush she moved them farther down. By that time they were well outside the city, in one of Sana's grassy plains, the only vegetation for a square mile being small outcroppings of bamboo.

"Here's good, huh?" Karis said, slowly descending in speed until she came to a complete halt. Himi hopped off her back and breathed deeply for a few moments before glaring the Jupiter Adept down, who grinned wildly in turn. "What? It was fun!"

Himi simply shook her head and plopped down on the grass while Karis laughed. The Venus Adept checked to make sure nothing had fallen out of her pack, especially the dress and bracelet, before sighing contently. Her heart-rate gradually slowed as she laid her head back into the gentle pillow of grass. A thud beside her made it clear that Karis had joined her… and was sitting very close. She could feel the other girl's clothing scraping against her.

"I'd say we're getting to know each other well, wouldn't you?" Karis whispered, slowly crawling up Himi's side until her head rested on the Venus Adept's shoulder. Himi took her time answering, finding herself slightly drowsy from the day's events and quite willing to lie in the field for the rest of it.

"Yes, I would say that. Odd, since it's only been two days… but, I suppose a lot of things connect us as well," Himi said, a tiny yawn punctuating her sentence.

"So, you've noticed it too?" Karis asked, snuggling in even closer. "How Adepts seem to bond so quickly and well with other Adepts? My father has a few theories on it; I simply think that since we understand the elements well, we have a greater overall sense of… things around us, especially other Adepts. Does that make sense?"

"I think so," Himi said with a nod. "So you think we're able to understand each other and bond quicker because we're both Adepts?"

"Yes," Karis replied, yawning as well. "I mean, I've known Tyrell and Matthew so long, they might as well be my brothers. But, Rief, Amiti, Sveta (she hesitated for a slight moment after saying the beastgirl's name), and Eoleo… I've grown to know them so well in such a short time. Perhaps, though, it's just fate."

"Fate?" Himi questioned, and Karis nodded.

"That's what the Third Eye is about, right? Prophecy… the future? Don't you think that we all fated to meet?" Karis stated.

Himi considered this, and then shrugged. "I do not put much weight in fate. What comes may come. I will try to enjoy my life and live it well."

"That's a very good way to think about it, Himi," Karis replied, and then coughed. "So… you do think we've gotten to know each other well?"

"Yes; I certainly feel comfortable around you," Himi said in reply, and then smiled. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She didn't need to look to know that Karis was blushing.

"…Well, we DID say that we would wait a little while before we did anything romantic, at least until we got to know each other better…" Karis said, a hint of seduction in her voice. "And if we now know each othe—" Himi's lips silenced her effortlessly. They kissed slowly, brushing their lips across each other's before gently ebbing into each other's mouths ever so slightly.

After a minute, Karis parted the kiss and rolled on top of Himi. "I like being on top," She whispered bluntly, her legs grappling Himi's together, and her arms caressing the young Miko's head. "How do you feel about kissing?"

"I-I'm not the best at it," Himi sputtered, her face growing red. Karis smiled, and shifted some of Himi's stray hairs off her face.

"Oh, please; I don't believe that for a second," The Jupiter Adept whispered, her light breath drifting just inches below and tickling Himi's nose. "But even so, I'm a very good kisser, so I can show you the ropes…" _So THIS is what it feels like to be teased,_ Himi thought to herself. In but a minute, Karis had sent her heart-rate skyrocketing, and that seemed to only be the prelude… "Tell me if you want me to stop," Karis purred, gently closing the distance and lightly pecking at Himi's neck.

"I won't," Himi replied, her eyes closing as the heavenly feeling of velvet coating her neck drew her in. Karis had to stifle a giggle, but stifle it she did, continuing to plant her kisses softly. Her hands gently pooled through Himi's jet black hair as her kisses rose higher and higher, like the wind pushing a leaf into the sky.

Finally she found Himi's lips, and neither girl held anything back. Karis poured herself into the younger girl, any thought of restraint crumbling as her lips hungrily gnawed at Himi's. Not as is the Venus Adept minded; she had never felt any sensation like this in her entire life, and was more than willing to let Karis continue onward. The Jupiter Adept surely seemed to know what she was doing.

It took Karis a short time to add tongue into the equation, at first guiding the darting muscle along Himi's lips before thrusting it in suddenly. It, once again, took Himi a few moments to adjust, but soon Karis found the younger girl getting the gist of it. A quick learner, that one. It wasn't much of a tongue or war, as Karis's twisted and squeezed Himi's into submission.

After another minute, Karis began to grind into her as well, erasing any distances between their two bodies. It felt right, their chests colliding in motion with their lips, their breathing and heart rates coming to a fever pitch. One of Karis's hands snaked away from Himi's hair and grasped her side with intensity, pulling the Venus Adept's body even closer.

Finally, after a suffocating five minutes, Karis reared back her head, and made her way to the rest of Himi's face, kissing her cheeks and taking her time kissing her nose. It was very pointy, and quite adorable; she enjoyed the feeling of it, and began squeezing it gently between her teeth.

"Do not bite by nose," Came Himi's muffled voice from below, and this time Karis couldn't help but giggle. But she listened, bringing her teeth to Himi's ears instead. "…Fine," Himi sighed, pleasure laced in her voice.

"Just relax and enjoy it; this is halftime," Karis whispered as she plucked at Himi's lobes. Half-time didn't last long, however; whereas Karis was wind in one moment, gentle and smooth, she flashed lightning in the next. Slow was not her prerogative today.

"MMMPH!" Himi grunted as Karis slammed her lips into the younger girl's own once more. For Himi, this was amazing; all these feelings, the warmth, the beating of her heart that drowned out every other sound. She didn't need to have been with another girl (or boy) to know that Karis was exceptional at squeezing pleasure out of a human body. She was very delighted by that fact, even if the only indication she could give to show as such was the rare moan that escaped her lips whenever Karis drew back for a split-second breath.

For Karis, it was more therapeutic than anything else; the pleasure was wonderful, but she needed to let her emotions out. Anytime an image of Sveta or Matthew, or (worse) them together flashed through her mind, she would kiss harder, and rub her body against Himi's sensually. Now and again, she would wonder if this was too passionate for their first kissing session.

But she couldn't deny how right it felt. Karis had at first been unsure as to whether or not she would be able to find an attraction toward the Venus Adept, but she couldn't help but appreciate how cute she was. Innocent, soft-spoken, needing to be willed out of her cage, and so sweet on the inside… just like Matthew.

She threw both hands onto Himi's head and kissed her as hard as she could, willing the image and comparison away from her mind. It lingered, but slowly began to fade as Himi started to kiss back more urgently; at first, the younger girl had simply been overwhelmed, but now she began to pour more intensity into each moment of their embrace.

Karis let that feeling wash over her; for a moment, it reminded her of Sveta, the only person she had been this intimate with who had ever truly kissed her back. That thought drifted away like the fall leaves into the sky as Himi flipped her onto her back, and found her ears. Karis smiled as she felt the Venus Adept's teeth nibble of her ear-lobe; a quick learner, indeed.

They continued on in the field for another good ten minutes, until Himi grew sleepy and lied her head down on Karis's chest. Karis smiled, petting the young girl's head gently before drifting off into a light nap herself.

* * *

><p>"Well, I think that's about enough!" Tyrell said cheerfully, barely visible behind the three bulbous bags that he held in his arms.<p>

"…Maybe a bit much?" Amiti suggested, causing Tyrell to laugh heartily, so heartily that he leaned over slightly and nearly fell into a waterway.

"That was too close," Amiti sighed as he grabbed one of the bags, steadying the Mars Adept.

"Yeah, let's get this stuff to the ship before I get it soaked," Tyrell suggested, beginning to stumble forward.

"And you're sure you don't want help lifting?" Amiti asked, concerned that hurrying would only increase the chance that all the food they had bought would soon find its way into the water on their right.

"I'm good," Tyrell replied, and Amiti shrugged. Once you got an idea into Tyrell's head, it was hard to get it out. The journey back to the ship, as such, was quite a dangerous affair; Tyrell pushed three different people into the water accidentally, leaving a very flustered Amiti to pull them out and do the best he could to dry them off.

Finally, thankfully, they made it to the ship without any more incidents, and began to climb the gangplank. "See?" Tyrell commented as he neared the ship's deck. "This was a piece of cake—" Suddenly, Tyrell placed his foot on a small puddle, and went flying backwards – sending the bags of food and drink into the air.

Thinking quickly, Amiti raised his hand and shouted, "Cold Snap!" freezing all of the water within a ten foot radius of the gangplank. With large thumps, the three bags landed on the ice. Most of the glass containers would likely be shattered, Amiti figured, but a good deal of the food was probably still alright, if a little bruised.

He sent a tired glance at Tyrell, who quickly leapt to his feet, and shrugged with an amused grin. "Whoopsie. Don't worry, I'll go get it!" The Mars Adept eagerly leapt down onto the ice, a large cracking sound following his decent. "…It's alright, it's still together!" He shouted, and Amiti sighed once more.

"Tyrell… how do you plan to even get the bags back up—"

"INCOMING!" Tyrell's voice boomed, and Amiti briefly saw his life flash before his eyes, the immediate threat being the large sack of food speeding toward him at an unavoidable velocity. He only had time for a quick mental prayer before it was in front of him; to be fair, he did try to catch it, and actually did get his arms around it. It's just that it also knocked him clear off the gangplank.

"Oof!" He exclaimed weakly as he slammed into the ice and the air left his lungs.

"…Did you catch it?" Came Tyrell's voice, before the Mars Adept noticed Amiti on the ice in front of him. "Oh. This is not my day." Amiti simply groaned, pushing the sack off of himself and gasping for breath.

With much aid from the dockworkers of Tonfon (whom Amiti thanked profusely), they managed to get off of the quickly-melting ice along with the sacks of food, and carefully carried them onto the ship. As they put them away, Amiti ran through his plan once more in his mind; if anything, the past hour had made him MORE hesitant to do it, but he knew it had to be done.

"Tyrell… I wanted to talk to you about something," The prince began, turning to the Mars Adept… who was busy eating the food he was supposed to be putting away.

"Mmmmfff… yeah, Amiti?" He replied after gulping down a piece of bread he had been chewing. Amiti did his best not to seem dismayed.

"You have been considering men as romantic interests, correct?" Amiti said serenely, knowing that he needed to be picture-perfect for Tyrell to actually agree to his proposal.

"Yeah, I have, but no one on this ship seems interested," Tyrell replied plainly, eyeing the rest of the bread he had been consuming. "I just figured if Karis thought dating someone of your sex was so great, I might as well try it out; she always seems to be ahead of everyone else."

"Ah," Amiti replied, nodding. His comment about Karis was certainly accurate, if possibly untrue in this specific case.

"So, you have a crush on her too?" Tyrell asked bluntly, causing Amiti to immediately lose his cool demeanor.

"O-On Karis?" He stuttered slightly, drawing a laugh from Tyrell.

"Well, everyone else on the ship does, so I figured. Something about the way you look at her," Tyrell replied with a shrug. "I can't blame you; if we didn't argue so damn much, I would definitely be going for her. Just something about her, you know?"

"I-It's not everyone on the ship," Amiti retorted, and Tyrell laughed.

"Oh, PLEASE, the only person who hasn't made eyes at her on this ship is Kraden… thank goodness. I've caught Rief, you, Eoleo… Matthew does it like it's his freaking day-job. Then obviously Sveta and Himi," Tyrell replied adamantly.

Amiti's face was one of pure shock, and Tyrell laughed as he glanced at it. "Hehe, thought I was unobservant and never noticed this stuff, eh? Nah; there's a method to my madness. Anyway, sorry you lost out of the Karis sweepstakes. There were just too many damn bidders."

"…I actually wanted to talk about something else," Amiti replied, trying to get the conversation back on track, as interesting as its derailing had been. "I was wondering if you would have any interest in a relationship with me."

Tyrell blinked in confusion for a few moments before saying, "Are you serious? I thought you hated me."

"Hated you?" Amiti asked blankly. Sure, he and Tyrell weren't the two closest members of the group, but he really didn't hold any negative feelings toward him.

"Yeah; you're just the type to," Tyrell replied with another shrug. "I'm an oaf, and it throws people off. No one ever appreciates the comic relief, they just laugh at it. Or they don't and get mad at you. I've stopped letting anything like that bother me; apparently my dad used to have real issues with people thinking he was slow and whatnot. I just don't care. If you like me, cool. If not, whatever."

"…That's actually very intelligent Tyrell," Amiti replied quietly. He had been intending to date Tyrell in order to show the Mars Adept that he was indeed heterosexual, but that had all been under the basis that Tyrell was… well, stupid, and just goofing around. What if Tyrell actually WAS trying to be start a homosexual relationship, and it was he who was in the wrong?

"Wow, you look really guilty; what's up?" Tyrell asked, shaking Amiti from his thoughts once again.

"…To be completely honest, I wanted to date you to convince you that you had no interest in men," Amiti replied slowly, not believing this conversation was taking place. "But, I feel rather bad about that, because—"

"Oh, I was kind of goofing around about the whole thing; I doubt I'm gay, but I figured I'd try it out, as it's not like I have any girls to work with on this ship," Tyrell interrupted, finally losing his patience and ripping off another chunk of bread. "But if you're still up for it, I wouldn't mind dating you. Warning: I'm a really, really bad kisser."

Amiti couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt… at the least, we'd get to know each other better," Amiti said after his laughter faded.

"Yeah, makes sense," Tyrell replied, swallowing. "Wait, so do you like both? Like, is this your first time with a guy?"

"Oh, I guess so…" Amiti replied with a nod. "To be honest, I've never really been in a relationship with anyone."

"Oh, it's complete hell; you'll want to break up with me in at least a week," Tyrell said flatly as he scarfed down yet another piece of bread. Amiti chuckled once more, picturing the relationship in his mind.

"Are they really that much of a hassle?" The Ayuthayan questioned, and Tyrell nodded.

"At least it was with Karis; we were only twelve, but I swear we just walked around in public shouting at each other. It was hilarious but terrible," Tyrell said, and Amiti smiled once more. The image of a young Tyrell and Karis bickering was endearing to say the least. "So… try it out?" Tyrell stepped forward, and Amiti nodded, holding out his hand in order to shake on the agreement.

Tyrell shook his head in disbelief, and before the Mercury Adept could even respond, pulled him in for a kiss, at which point two thoughts crossed Amiti's mind; that Tyrell was indeed a bad kisser, and that he may have no idea what he just agreed to.

* * *

><p>"…Something to eat, maybe?" Matthew asked hesitantly as Sveta continued to walk towards the ship. He had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to convince her that there had to be something for them to do and enjoy in the city, but she seemed to be having none of it.<p>

"I'd rather go back to the ship," Sveta said quietly, not turning to face him as she spoke. Matthew frowned, and sighed. This was his fault… he should have understood how hard this day would be for her. "That's not it, Matthew," She replied flatly, and it dawned on him that she had read his heart. "It's not you, it's me. Like you said, I need to get over my feelings for Sana… it's just hard."

She stopped walking, and her head fell. "Hey…" Matthew jogged up to her and wrapped his arms around her body. "Don't worry about it… nothing bad has happened yet, right?" Matthew said, squeezing her tightly. "I know it's hard, and we can go back if you want to, but you don't need to feel threatened. You know I'd never let anything happen to you here, or anywhere else."

"You don't see the looks they give me, Matthew," She whispered under her breath, turning her eyes to his. Her green orbs, always so dazzling, seemed fractured as she spoke. "It is not that these people are the same as those who murdered my parents and enslaved my people; but for every person that cares not for what I am, there is one that does. And no matter how slight, those feelings wanes on me. I despise being viewed as… animal."

"You're still worried about what's going to happen to Morgal, aren't you?" He asked, and she refused to meet his gaze. "That entire conversation with Unan… through most of it, you were just trying to threaten him, and protect your home, weren't you? Because that wasn't you Sveta; it was forced, like a performance," Matthew said, and she trembled and sighed.

"I had to know if I could trust him, and no matter what I had to know that Sana would never invade or hurt Morgal ever again… I'm sorry I risked our quest in the process," She replied, and he rubbed her belly gently.

"Don't worry about that," He replied. "I understand; we all do. Now, let's go back to the ship and—"

"AH! They're letting them in the city, now?" Came a raucous voice from behind them. Both of the Adepts turned quickly to see a one armed man looking at them with a disgusted look pouring from his face. "First we let these half-breeds free to terrorize the continent, and now we actually let them INTO Tonfon? What is the world coming to?"

The man looked to be around in his late fourties; his face was still quite fair, and his brown hair was pulled into a greasy ponytail. His garb was common; by far his most striking feature was his missing arm. For some reason, although Matthew knew he hadn't, he felt like he had seen the man before.

At his racist words, many of the passerby coughed and looked away; a few sent dirty looks to the man or shouted him down, and even fewer cheered that hate-filled bile he spoke. Matthew frowned and narrowed his eyebrows as he felt Sveta lower her body and begin to hiss.

"We don't want any trouble… just be on your way," Matthew said calmly, his hand on his blade's handle.

"…If I was twenty years younger and had both my arms," The man grumbled, staring down Sveta with obvious hatred. "It was one of YOUR kind that did this to me, bitch." Matthew quickly grabbed Sveta, preventing her from pouncing on the man. He had half a mind to let her, at this point. "That stupid prince… bit my damn arm right off. But I got my revenge; wouldn't mind adding you to my tally, though."

Matthew felt his breathing stop as he realized what the man had just said; by the prince… by Volechek… suddenly, Sveta's words from earlier in the day rang in his ears: "_If it weren't for my brother biting the bastard's arm off, he would have done much worse to her corpse_." There was no way… it couldn't be…

Suddenly, Sveta whined from beside him, and he snapped his head to see her shrunken to the ground, her paws covering her face. It was. It was him. And she just couldn't take it, Matthew realized. He had been more correct than he had believed; this entire day she had been operating under constant and dire fear.

The very sight of a Sana soldier brought back the image of her dead mother without fail. It had led her to become so cold and angry… and now, faced with her mother's murder, sent such pain and fear coursing through her that she couldn't even stand. Suddenly, Matthew felt his insides grow cold, and his entire body began to shake.

"…No, it can't be!" The ex-soldier exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "But it is! The queen's little kitten; I remember you well. You would have been next if it hadn't been for your brother… but from what I've heard, he finally got what he deserved too, didn't he? Maybe today you should join hi—" SLAM!

Matthew was fairly sure that the punch he delivered to the man's face had, at the least, broken his jaw. The bastard lied motionless, partway through the fruit stand Matthew had sent him flying into. The Venus Adept breathed heavily as he stared at the man's body, his anger not fading in the slightest.

He strode forward and picked the soldier up by his shirt, then kicked him back into the middle of the street. He then walked forward, and, picking him up again, sent a Cure through the man's body, just enough to wake him up once more. Matthew felt waves of eyes upon him, but he cared not. He had promised Sveta that he would not let anyone hurt her, and he kept his promises.

"Listen to me," He spat as the man blinked into consciousness. "That girl, whose mother you murdered? She's ten times the person you will ever be, and a hundred times more brave. She came to this city, filled with those that took everything from her, and has the audacity to forgive this country for… for… the atrocities. So much pointless violence. I wouldn't do it, I wouldn't forgive rats like you; she's stronger than I am too."

"Haha, her, strong?" The soldier began, his voice garbled from his jaw, which was indeed broken. "She cowers before me, she—" The soldier froze, his eyes staring behind Matthew, who turned around to see Sveta staring down the man. Her gaze was of so many powerful emotions; he could feel them battling each other for dominance. She raised her hand after a few moments, and Matthew honestly thought she was about to slice the man's head clean off his body.

And then, all the emotion faded from her face, and it became hard as stone. Without a word, she turned, and walked away. As much respect as Matthew already had for Sveta, he felt it double at that moment. He knew he was not strong enough to do what she had just done.

He turned back to the man, whose face was mixed with relief and some vague sense of fear. "If I ever," Matthew began, leaning in close to the scum in front of him. "See or hear you do ANYTHING to the people of Morgal, I swear… I will make you live the rest of your pathetic life with no arms." Before the man could respond, Matthew lifted him and threw him clear into one of the waterways.

"H-He can't swim, he only has one arm!" Someone shouted after a moment, and sure enough a few men and women ran over to pull the retired solider out. Matthew frowned, but didn't move; part of him wished the bastard would drown, but he still could not condone murder, even in this case.

"Sveta?" He said, turning to see her pointing to what looked like two Sanan soldier racing towards them. Her face was motionless, and he gritted his teeth; getting into a fight with the Sanan Army was not something they could afford to let happen.

"Halt!" Came a voice to the right of them, and both turned to view the old-man they had met at the palace moving quickly in their direction. "These two are coming with me… I will deal with this, have no worry of it," He said quickly, speaking to the two soldiers, who eyed each other wearily as he spoke.

"…They attacked a citizen. A handicapped citizen, not to mention, Tano," The first solider said, and the other nodded.

"I watched the entire incident, and the man directly threatened them," The old-man, whose name was apparently Tano, replied calmly. "Besides, there is a very good reason as to why he lost his arm; murdering a mother in front of her children is cruelty of the highest degree. You will do as I say, lest you wish me to bring Lord Unan into this?"

At the mention of the emperor's name, both soldiers gulped and shared a look once more. "…That won't be necessary, if you believe they were in the right," The second soldier replied. "At the least, could you take them away from the area, so things can calm down?"

Tano nodded with a smile, and shifted his gaze towards Sveta and Matthew. "Would you mind coming with me? We can stop by my home for a little while until things out here settle." Matthew nodded in thanks, but Sveta remained silent. The Venus Adept glanced at her worriedly; indeed, she seemed even more distant than she had been earlier. The luck of finding her mother's killer, of all people…

"This way," Tano said, turning and beginning to walk off in the opposite direction from the growing crowd of people. Matthew, taking Sveta's hand and squeezing it tightly, began to follow. He felt his heart ache as she gave no sign of acknowledgement, but kept his mouth closed, and searched his mind for anything he could say or do to cheer her up. It only began to ache more as he drew a blank, and realized that perhaps there was nothing more he could do.

* * *

><p><em>Well, this chapter certainly jumped around a bit, to say the least. It also went for a little bit longer than I wanted it to (about 7,000 words), but I'm alright with that; it went as long as it needed to.<em>

_You know a fic is starting to get too long when you have to go back and fact-check yourself. Damn. If anyone ever notices an inconsistency, let me know; I really try to keep them non-existent, because I despise them. But, with four multi-chaps, things get mixed up, and crap happens… so, yeah._

_Glad to write some Himi and Karis action (literally!); they need character development, at least as a couple. They're interesting to write, and pretty adorable, in my opinion. Amiti and Tyrell were also very fun to write; I love fleshing out Tyrell rather than leaving him so dopey. Yeah, he acts stupid, but why can't it be intentional! And finally, Sveta and Matthew was, once again, a little sad :( . I promise she will get much happier next chapter, and that for the near future she will be much happier in general._

_I have such a fanboy crush on Karis. It's terrible. I think you can go back and forth with how she'd act romantically with someone; as I've said before, even if she isn't Jenna's daughter (which she isn't in this fic, for obvious reasons), from a character design stance she definitely has some Jenna in her. But, also some Ivan._

_I've written her in a varied amount of ways; in this fic, she is very hyper-aggressive from a romantic standpoint (which is how I prefer her, to be completely honest), which makes sense as she is a rather controlling person. In Shoreline and Let There Be Sparks, she had definite hints of that slight controlling nature, and in Karis-Claus and (the small sample size of it we've had) SWWF she was shown as much more timid._

_As I said, I prefer the first, because that's part of her fundamental characterization; the idea of control. It's odd that I'm so attracted to it (and her), because I enjoy freedom and like to shake off control. I guess I've always been attracted to opposites, though, so this is no different. I love playing with her controlling nature, as it's both a strength and a flaw, which is why she's probably my favorite character to write. At some point I'm going to write (I've started it kind of) a multi-chap that really explores that element of her (I may have mentioned this somewhere else). Anywhoo._

_I've been really unhappy with typos (and just bad sentence structure in general) lately, so I tried to kill them with fire in this chapter, but I'm still unsure if it still has a lot of them… a major issue with this is that I usually edit when I'm tired, because I end up finishing fics late most of the time. Anyway, hopefully this chapter is cleaner than the past few, I really did try to edit well._

_I'm really happy; this chapter officially put this fic over 200 pages in MS Word for me. That just gave me tingles :D . Next chapter will be more Karis/Himi and Sveta/Matthew (can anyone say double date?), as well as Eoleo/Rief/Kraden (which is actually going to be really funny)._

_It might also get split, depending on how long it seems it will be. I'd say there's a 63% chance of that happening, so I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Well, next update next Sunday (with AGS tomorrow and LoV on this Sunday). Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!_


	10. City of Marvels, Pt 2

_Welcome back after a really long and unforgivable break. I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately. Anyway, here's chapter ten. I'm going to take a brief moment to dance about my first multi-chap with double-digit chapters. Okay, back from dancing. It was only a few shakes, I'm exhausted._

_I'm actually really happy I got this out, because I sure as hell wouldn't have been able to this week and get AGS out on time (I should be officially back on schedule soon, considering I have few finals). Uh, yeah. Here we go._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: City of Marvels Part 2<strong>

"We're completely ridiculous, you know that right? We're on a date at the library, of all places," Himi remarked, glancing around at the thousands of tomes in the vast collection.

"Pffff. Libraries are the best," Karis replied distantly, her eyes pouring through layer after layer of information. To call her a speed reader was an insult; Karis loved reading, and that love had only blossomed more and more as her age had grown. Even before she, Tyrell, and Matthew had departed to secure the feather, she had gathered immense information regarding the rest of the world. As such, she would routinely point out things she remembered from her reading… leading Tyrell to accuse her of being more of an encyclopedia than their actual encyclopedia.

If he had been trying to insult her, it had failed. "Knowledge is power, Himi…"Karis muttered, having already covered ten pages in the minute since she had spoken. "And we need both in bunches."

"I suppose," Himi replied, as she also shared a love for information and reading. Just not to Karis's degree. Finding nothing she was interested in on the shelf immediately in front of her, Himi turned to Karis, and for the first time took in how fast Karis was speeding through the information. "Wow… you're really burning through that," Himi said in awe, then giggled as she took a closer look. "Oh… never mind, it's a picture book!"

Karis broke eye contact with the book to give Himi a light glare, and muttered, "If you want to get embarrassed, go ahead and ask me to a reading contest. See how it works out for you." Himi giggled again, and Karis smiled as well. "Anyway, look at this page and this picture; I think I've found something important." Karis pointed to an illustration of a purple gem on the book's page.

"…The Echo Gem," Himi read, slightly intrigued. Something about the stone was very… mystical to her.

"You know the two Sanan Royals, Hou Ju and Ryu Kou, we mentioned while talking to Lord Unan?" Karis asked, and Himi nodded. "Well, Ryu Kou had a gem strapped to his waist that looked exactly like this one. Read the inscription as to what it is."

Himi complied, and read aloud, "The Echo Gems are rare Sanan treasures that are inexplicably linked. As such, the Echo Gems will always point toward its sibling, meaning that one can use the Echo Gems to always know the location of someone close to them, or something along those lines. They have traditionally been used within Sanan Royalty to maintain a sense of connection and knowledge of location amongst family."

Himi stopped reading, her eyes wide with realization. "Oh! So, if Ryu Kou has one…"

"Then we just need to find its sister gem," Karis replied, a faint but utterly satisfied smile across her lips. Nothing was more rewarding to her than finding exactly what she needed due to diligence. "So, how about libraries now, huh? And knowledge? And reading? Ready to admit I was right?" Karis said in mock haughtiness.

"I can't believe I ever doubted you," Himi replied with just as much sarcasm. Karis chucked as she heaved the heavy tome back into its shelf, and then turned to her girlfriend.

"Well? Let's check out the palace!" Karis said enthusiastically, and Himi nodded. They exited the library, and made their way to the palace. As they approached, they noticed the guard, Ano, straighten his back and eye them wearily. It was only when they reached him that he sighed and became more relaxed.

"Surprised to see us?" Karis asked with a bit of bite; she hadn't forgotten their less-than-pleasant encounter from earlier that day.

"Hey, as long as it's JUST you two," Ano replied with relief, and Karis grimaced.

"I understand that you're bitter about the death of your father, but she lost BOTH her parents," Karis said calmly, eyeing Ano. "And now, her brother may be gone as well. She can read hearts, and heard what you thought about her. Your father and her family died for no reason, and it's up to us to make sure no Sanans or Beastpeople ever have to again."

"I'm not here to get lectured," Ano grumbled, and the other guard rolled his eyes.

"You're not going to get much sympathy from him, I'm afraid. Do you need to re-enter the place?" The other guard asked, and Karis nodded, her eyes still glaring at Ano, who could not meet her gaze. "Then go on in," The other guard said, and Himi and Karis did so, the latter with a bit more gravity and purpose.

"You really have it out for him, huh?" Himi asked, and Karis shrugged.

"Sveta's a beautiful person, Himi," The Jupiter Adept replied after a few moments of silence, and her voice cracking as she spoke. "One of the kindest, gentlest people I've ever known. I know you don't know her as well… but all this anger you've seen from her, all this supposed hatred is simply pain. Beastpeople feel differently from us, have different feelings for certain relations and ideals.

"To them, family is above all. As a people, they are incredibly close knit, but a Beastperson's family is bound together by ties that never break. Regardless of if you're angry with your sibling, or even hate something about them, in the end that is trumped by the fact that they are your blood. So when Sana took her family from her, it wounded Sveta in the deepest way possible. And while they never truly took Volechek, that war changed him, and for that she also rightfully blamed Sana. If you kill a Beastperson's family, they are bound to utterly despise the murderer.

"She struggles with it. She doesn't want to hate them, but they've taken so much from her. She feels pain differently from us as well, and… it's hard to explain, but it hurts her more than we could imagine. And so, being here, around them, all she feels is that pain. All she expects is to feel terror and helplessness again. All she expects is to see Matthew or I struck down by Sana. She's not herself here, she's constantly hit by wave after wave of pain and irrational fear. At least Unan is a good man, but I still worry."

"…I had no idea," Himi replied quietly, somewhat stunned by Karis's explanation. "Are you the only person she's talked to about this?"

"Yes," Karis said, directing Himi to a door on their left as she spoke. "Our relationship blossomed because she needed someone to talk to about her life… she's repressed those feelings for so long. Hopefully, she'll talk to Matthew about them at some point. I used to think I was the best suited to comfort her, but now I'm not so sure."

Himi raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask the Jupiter Adept what she meant, Karis coughed and hastily continued. "Since Ryu Kou has the Echo Gem now, it makes sense that Lord Kuan had it to begin with. So, Lady Hinechou would most likely have the sister gem. I researched the Sanan palace in some text while we were in the library in the hope I might find some other secrets regarding the Umbra Map and Grave Eclipse, and as such I know where to go to find Lady Hinechou. She's in the Western Tower. Speaking of which… ta-da!"

Sure enough, they had emerged at said tower, and Himi glanced at it with determination. "So, er, where should this gem be?" Himi asked, and Karis shrugged.

"Probably with Lady Hinechou… I don't know how we're going to get it though," Karis replied, shrugging. "We'll figure out something. We always do." Without another word, they entered the tower, and seeing a spiraling stair-case, began to climb.

As they reached the top, they came across a sad sight; a well garbed woman, who Himi assumed was Lady Hinechou, turned to them, and for the briefest of moments her eyes buzzed with great passion and excitement upon glancing at the Venus Adept. Then, realization set in, and she turned away, scarcely able to hold back her tears. Himi blinked in surprise, and turned to Karis, who was wearing a grimace.

"She thought you were Hou Ju," Karis whispered bluntly, and Himi bit her lip, her head falling toward the ground.

"Who are you, and why are you disturbing Lady Hinechou in her suffering?" A blustery man standing in front of a regal dresser asked, and Karis stepped forward.

"Hello! We're Adepts out to stop the Grave Eclipse, and," Karis paused briefly as the man in front of her rolled his eyes, but then swallowed and continued, "We were wondering if we could borrow the Echo Gem, it you have it."

"The Echo Gem? Are you insane? A priceless Sanan artifact, and you expect us to give it out to you just like that," The man shouted in outraged, and Karis winced. "All of you 'Adepts' looking out to help stop the Grave Eclipse are just looters out to try to steal from us!"

"No! We are trying to get the Echo Gem to find Lady Hinechou's children!" Himi interjected, causing the man to spit and glare.

"…How dare you!" He shouted once more. "Ryo Kou and Hou Ju are both lost to us, and you have the nerve to bring them up in front of our lady? Besides, Lord Kuan had the Echo Gem's sister gem… you are nothing but thieves, leave us now!" Himi opened her mouth to argue, but Karis grasped her hand and turned her around.

"Well, that way isn't going to work," The Jupiter Adept whispered as she dragged Himi down the stairs.

"Then what do we do?" Himi asked, and Karis glanced around to make sure no one was looking.

"That angry guy was in front of that dresser, and he looked almost like he was guarding it. If I had to bet money on it, I'd bet that's where the Echo Gem is. We just need to get to it," Karis mused, looking over their surroundings as they exited back into the outside walkway. "So, we need to get them out of there…" Karis's eyes settled on the war bell, and she frowned. "If only we had Sveta."

"Oh, the bell?" Himi asked, and Karis nodded. "Psssh," Himi sounded, raising her hand and pulling a rock from the rock garden at the front of the palace to her. With a solid push, she sent it careening into the bell, which made an un-godly loud clang. A second of silence, and then…

"THE WAR BELL! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Karis sent a brilliant smile towards Himi, and whispered, "I love you so much right now." Himi's blush perfectly matched her eyes. "Well… I mean, they'll be out of the top room, but where the hell do we go now? I mean… they'll be right in the bottom room." Karis bit her lip and glance upward. Answering her own question, Karis shrugged, and stuck her hand through the door to the tower, muttering, "Sleep." She peaked her head in, and with a nod they both dashed in.

After they had scaled the stairs, Karis quickly flung the top drawer of the dresser open, then the second, both to no avail. Swallowing, she slowly creaked open the third, and heaved a sigh of relief when she spied the purple gem lying inside. "Okay, let's run down—"

"Oh my! They've all fainted! Quick, check the upstairs!" They suddenly heard from below, and Karis smiled sheepishly. "First rule of being a Jupiter Adept: always prepare jumping out of a building as a last resort." Himi didn't even question what was about to happen, although she was none too pleased by it.

Karis grabbed the Venus Adept by the shoulders, and quickly darted to the window, throwing both of them out of it. Thankfully, even diving in mid-air Karis had fantastic accuracy, and they crashed into the water. Himi did her best to cling onto Karis as she felt the older girl squeeze tightly and then begin to swim.

After a minute of no breath, in which Karis, very sweetly, at one point pressed her lips to Himi's and gave her more air, they finally came to a far enough area at which Karis surfaced, and they both took in great gulps of oxygen.

Seeing shore, Karis dragged both of them out of the water, and they sat there, soaking wet and panting for a few good minutes. "W-Why can't anything ever go as planned?" Himi asked as she stood shakily. She had never swam much, and as such was slightly uneasy at the dive they had just taken.

"Hey, at least we got it," Karis replied, already beginning to shake off. "Well… we better dry off before someone asks why we're wet." And without warning, Karis cast a large whirlwind which, in a few moments, had nearly completely dried them off.

Himi blinked as the unexpected gust ended, and turned with a straight face towards Karis. "You are bad for my health," Was all she said before beginning to march back towards the city, leaving an amused Karis to laugh heartily for a good minute before running to catch up with the still-soggy Venus Adept.

* * *

><p>"My, my, I can't believe Obaba is still alive," Kraden said as the awkward threesome walked through Tonfon, looking for nothing is particular. To Rief's relief, the discussions had been completely focused on Champa and Eoleo's past, rather than Mia.<p>

"Yeah. She's still pretty feisty too," Eoleo replied, smiling as he thought of his great-grandmother. "I keep asking her when she's going to croak, and her answer is always as soon as she gets to meet her great-great-great-grandkid… so I guess I should get busy." Kraden chuckled, while Rief winced. While it didn't bother him nearly as much as it did Amiti, it was still disconcerting to hear sex joke after sex joke. Especially when this was coming from the man who apparently was madly in love with his mother.

"Oh ho ho… Obaba was quite charming when we met her. I was a little hot and bothered to be honest," Kraden replied with a wink, and Eoleo burst out laughing.

"Better make your move then. I'm sure she'd appreciate it… pirates don't exactly have the longest life span," Eoleo said, in good spirits until the last few words, where his face fell. He quickly picked his cheer back up though, and smiled. "So, we've been wandering doing nothing… what do you guys want to do?"

"Well, we have found some things…" Rief muttered, pulling numerous objects out of his pack. "But I agree, there has to be something better to do than walking around."

"Oh, nonsense, conversing is one of life's greatest joys!" Kraden said jovially, and Rief smiled and rolled his eyes. If there was one thing Kraden loved, it definitely was conversing. "On the topic of relationships, there have certainly been a lot of them going around the ship," Kraden continued, and Rief gulped. He didn't like where this was going.

"What about you, Eoleo? Any special ladies back home? Despite being tasked with teaching Rief, I can't help him much in that regard, and romance is a very important lesson after all."

Eoleo's eyes became wide with anticipation, and Rief groaned. It was coming. "Well…" Eoleo said, putting his hands behind his back, and grinning widely. "There IS one special little lady I met once upon a time… but sadly, she's out of my reach."

"Oh! How terrible! Well, I suppose there are other fish in the sea, and since you spend so much time on it, you should be all set," Kraden replied, but Eoleo shook his head.

"No sir," Eoleo said with a firm shake of his head. "Nobody else for me out there. She's the most pristine and beautiful thing my eyes will ever see, and I'm sorry to say no one else will measure up. Her hair, her eyes, her cheery misdemeanor, her—"

"Okay, she sounds great, let's move on," Rief grumbled in annoyance, drawing a guilty look from Eoleo and a confused one from Kraden.

"Now, Rief, there's no need to be rude… Eoleo was just describing his past ventures with us," Kraden said slowly, somewhat surprised as his usually docile students comments. "Anyway, what was her name, Eoleo?"

"Oh… uh… well…" Eoleo stuttered, glancing at Rief with an unsure countenance. Rief rolled his eyes, and threw out a sigh.

"It's Mia. My Mom. He crashed into Imil at some point and fell in love with my Mom," Rief said, throwing his arms up as he finished. There was a pause as Kraden shifted his bespectacled eyes between Eoleo and Rief, to seemingly gauge the credibility of such an unexpected, and frankly ridiculous statement. When both Adepts failed to meet his eyes, Eoleo rubbing his arm awkwardly and Rief simply staring at the ground wishing he had stayed back on the ship, Kraden gasped.

Then, a moment later, he burst out laughing. "Oh, oh my… well, Eoleo, I hate to say it, but you won't have much luck there. I don't know if Rief told you, but Mia isn't exactly… keen on males."

"Yes, I'm aware," Eoleo replied bluntly, Rief blushing heavily as he desperately wished that this terrible conversation would end.

"It was quite cute, really… she had quite a flair for Jenna back in the day," Kraden said with a smile, and Rief's head turned on a swivel to stare at his mentor.

"My Mom had a thing for Matthew's mom?" Rief asked quietly, and Kraden burst into another fit of chuckles.

"Oh, yes… it was adorable. Poor Jenna was stuck between Isaac and Mia for quite a while, but Mia, being Mia, didn't want to get in the way once she realized how strong Isaac's feeling were," Kraden replied. "Since, er, you exist Rief, I take it she also gave men a shot later down the road, but I think she truly had her heart set on a woman."

"…Yeah, that's about it," Rief replied wearingly. "I had a hard time coming to terms with it, but… hopefully she finds someone eventually."

"I'm sure she will," Eoleo said with a nod. "She's really too wonderful not to."

"Anyway," Kraden interjected, sensing Rief's desire to switch to another subject. "I think I may have spotted something of interest to us; how about that little orange fellow camping on top of that rooftop." Rief and Eoleo followed the sage's arm as he outstretched it, and sure enough there sat a Mars Djinn, hopping up and down.

"Oh hell yes," Eoleo whispered with intense hunger. "Tyrell will be so pissed, I'll finally have one more than him… how are we getting it?"

"Er… Rief muttered, glancing around their vicinity. His eyes came across a large gap between the rooftop the Djinn sat on and another rooftop that he noticed could be reached quite easily. Scanning further, a barge further down the waterway caught his eye; if they could just move the barge, then they could—

"Happy flying!" Eoleo shouted, and Rief briefly felt his body lift off the ground lightly, before he suddenly found himself flying through the air—and straight towards the Mars Djinn.

"…Oh, poppycock," The Djinn exclaimed as Rief crashed into it, both of them slamming into the wall adjacent to the roof. "I say, was that really necessary? If you had wanted me to join your cause, there was no need to stampede over me. I would have done so willingly." The Djinn spoke, and Rief rubbed the back of his friend sheepishly.

"My apologies, my friend decided to convert me into a missile," Rief replied innocently, and he had a feeling that if Djinn could roll their eyes, the one in front of him would be doing so.

"Well, at any rate, should I make my home inside you now?" The elemental asked, but Rief shook his head, and pointed off of the roof.

"Actually, my friend Eoleo wanted you," Rief stated, and the Mars Djinn peered over the roof and seemed to shudder.

"…Bit of a brute, eh old chap?" The Djinn said with some hesitancy, before sighing. "But, I guess I have little choice."

"Ah, don't worry… Eoleo's a nice guy. A little crazy, but the kind of guy you wouldn't mind dating your mother if she wasn't gay," Rief replied, before his eyes widened at what he has just said.

Before the flustered Mercury Adept could correct himself or take back his words, the Mars Djinn, raising an eyebrow Rief hadn't realized it had, said dryly, "You've got quite an interesting party, huh?"

Rief shook his head and chuckled at that. "You don't know the half of it. What's your name, by the way?"

"Tinder, charmed I'm sure," The Mars Djinn replied, bobbing his head slightly. "I am used it battle to revive party members once they have taken crushing blows. And none of that 'will it or won't it work' hogwash. When I'm used, I work. It's part of my warranty."

"…Alright then," Rief replied, completely unsure of what to make of this knew Djinn. "Well, let's get you down to Eoleo." After a few worried glances, Rief jumped down and, completely unscathed, handed Tinder to Eoleo.

"Nice to have you aboard, Tinder," Eoleo said out loud as the elemental flew into him. "You'll get plenty of time to roam free, and I'll try to use you only when I need to. I run a tight ship, but all your mates are well behaved, so you shant worry about any quarrels or the like."

"…Er, Eoleo?" Rief asked, and Eoleo turned to him and nodded. "Do all your Djinn sound like that?"

"Nah, Mars Djinn are a little nuts," Eoleo replied, drawing out a few "heys!" of protest from within his body. "Aww, quit your bellyachin'! You see, Mars Djinn are just like Mars Adepts. Bipolar as all hell. Really like to do different things. So, they all have different accents and such. One of mine refuses to do anything else but whistle. Drives me insane, I threatened to kick him to the curb once, but no good; he just kept whistling."

"…Right," Rief replied, slightly sorry he asked. At the least, they had gotten a new Djinn. "I think that's a good time to call it quits… want to head back to the ship?"

"Aye. Been a good few hours since I've had some rum. I might stop back in Tonfon for the nightlife, though," Eoleo replied, and Rief raised an eyebrow.

"Nightlife?" The young Mercury Adept asked, and Eoleo coughed.

"Er… forget I said it. Just… there aren't really any women on board our ship, if you catch my drift. Only young girls. And hell, less than half of them like men, so a pirate has to do what a pirate has to do," Eoleo said, a smile growing on his face as he spoke. "Plunder some booty."

Rief immediately shut his mouth, mentally deciding to not open it again until they got back to the ship. For the first time in a good while, he was very happy his mother wasn't interested in men, especially in this case Eoleo. Nightlife indeed. Hmph.

* * *

><p>"I truly apologize for all the hardships you've faced in our city," Tano said, pouring piping hot tea as he spoke. Sveta and Matthew sat motionless at the elderly man's table inside his home. Matthew had spent the last five minutes of awkward silence, where Tano had gone to fetch the tea, sending concerned glance after concerned glance at Sveta, who was having none of it. After the third minute she had finally met his eyes, and her message couldn't have been clearer: "leave me alone".<p>

And so, as worried as he was that they were with Tano, considering he was Sanan, he was glad they were finally outside the view of the city and doing some form of resting. Besides, as far as Sanans go, Sveta seemed much more fond of Tano than anyone else in the city… well, maybe fond wasn't the right word, but she certainly seemed at least somewhat at ease around him.

"But… hopefully, you will learn to see that there are good people as well in Sana," Tano continued, but Sveta remained mute. Matthew cleared his throat, and turned to the elderly man.

"Thank you very much for inviting us inside your home," Matthew replied kindly, bowing slightly. Sveta nodded, and then raised her head.

"Why don't you hate me?" Sveta asked bluntly, drawing a bitter smile from Tano. "How can you look at me without feeling the same anger I hold toward your people?"

"Sveta, what are you talking about?" Matthew asked, and she turned to him and narrowed her eyes.

"This man, Tano, is the grandfather of Ano, the guard I had that quarrel with," Sveta responded coldly, and Matthew's eyes widened. "So, that means he lost his son to the war. And I want to know how he can stare at me and actually treat me kindly, when all I can feel towards nearly every Sanan I meet is anger and pain."

"It is hard," Tano interjected, sighing as he stared down into his tea. "But, I know that the Beastmen did not want to kill my son. Morgal is a strong and proud country, and Sana got what it asked for by invading and abusing the Beastmen for no reason. I prayed my son would stay safe, but obviously that didn't happen…"

"I'm so sorry…" Matthew whispered, hanging his head low.

"So am I…" Sveta whispered, raising herself from the table, having not even taken a sip of her tea. "I can't stay here. I'm sorry." Without another word, she ran out of the room, her pigtails and a few stray tears streaming from behind her.

Matthew felt his throat tighter, but resisted the urge to chase after her, until Tano said, "Go. I wish I had told my son to stay… it's hard to talk to the people we love when they want to shut us out. But, that is when they need us most." Matthew hesitated one more moment, but then nodded.

"Thank you," The Venus Adept said hastily, turning and charging out of the house. When he reached the street, he glanced both ways, realizing he had no way of knowing where Sveta had gone. If only he had the Track Psynergy.

Dejectedly resolving to pick a direction to try, he froze as he heard a light sniffle, and followed the sound until he came to a thin alleyway. Sure enough, he found Sveta crouched down on the ground and leaning against a wall, her arms wrapped around her body and covering her face.

"Leave me alone. There's nothing you can do," Sveta whimpered. Matthew winced, but swallowed and moved forward, dropping down to her level. One of her green eyes peered out from between her arms. It glistened and shook as it seemed to pierce him, but he looked her straight in the eyes.

"I know you want to help, Matthew," Sveta whispered, and he sensed the Sveta was reading his spirit. "But this isn't something you should be put through."

"Karis helped you with this, didn't she?" Matthew asked suddenly, and Sveta's eye widened in surprise before shrinking back down.

"…Yes. I would talk to her," Sveta murmured, and Matthew pressed his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I have a feeling that you didn't go to her at first about it, and that she had to coax you into talking to her," Matthew continued, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "Because Karis is nosy like that. I'm not… but I'm willing to do whatever you need me to do. And if that means pushing more than I normally would, then so be it."

"You're certainly right about her making me talk about it," Sveta said, lifting her head out of her arms and resting her chin on them. "I get quiet whenever I think about Sana and my parents, and she picked up on it quickly and wouldn't let it go."

"Then talk to me," Matthew whispered, and he felt her entire body shake. Still, for a few more seconds there was silence, and he could almost feel her soul arguing with itself. And then, she let out a sharp cry.

"I hate him so much." Sveta broke, and Matthew, scared out of his mind that he was well past his comfort zone, threw out his arms around her as she collapsed into his chest. Her tears poured onto him, and within a minute his shirt was very damp; but he said nothing, simply stroking her back and trying to whisper soothing things into her ears.

"All I could see was my Mom and Dad d-dead," Sveta whispered, her voice brimming with such pain Matthew nearly felt like he was going to be sick. "I know he didn't kill D-Dad, but he's all I've seen in my nightmares… standing over her body, slice, after slice, after slice…" Sveta erupted into another fit of tears were her words were too garbled to comprehend.

"Everyone I love dies," She whispered again, squeezing his body tightly. "In front of me. In front of my face. And I can never do anything. I hate it, Matthew. I hate him, I hate them, I hate them all, and I hate myself for hating them! That man, Tano, and Unan, and all the others Sanas who have never hurt me, who have never done anything wrong… I hate them, and it's terrible."

"You don't hate them," Matthew said quietly, pulling her in even tighter. "Look at me Sveta." She did so, and he gently stroked her cheek. "You don't hate anyone, you're just afraid. And that fear leads to the old pain, and you feel defensive and angry. But it's not your hatred. It's your sadness. You had the chance to strike down that bastard, and you didn't."

"I wanted to," She piped in timidly, but Matthew shook his head.

"No, you wanted to stop the pain, and seeing him brought it rushing into you," Matthew said softly. "Don't hate yourself for your sadness, Sveta, and don't turn it into something it's not. It's your love for your family and your people, and the pain the loss of those has caused. You need to let it out, as hard as it is."

"I've tried," Sveta squeaked, her green eyes once again finding his. "But it's so hard. I want to help my people, but all I ever wanted was my Mom and Dad and my Brother and to live with them. And I'll never have that again. And no matter how hard I try, anything even remotely related to Sana just springs that into my mind, and I can't get it out."

"Sveta, I know it's hard to hear this," Matthew said calmly, trying to think of the best way to lessen her hurt. "But that's the past. You need to let go of your past."

"I know," She replied quickly with a nod, as if to reinforce the idea to herself. "But it's… I… I know I can't change the past, but I'm so scared for the future." She paused, and drew in a mighty, broken breath. "I don't want to lose you, Matthew. I love you."

Her words choked in her throat as the ones she had spoken reverberated in the air. Matthew felt his heart beat fast; her words had felt deep feeling and deep meaning. He was fond of Sveta, and he knew she was fond of him, but he had no idea…

"I'm so sorry," Sveta sputtered, and Matthew turned to her, his mind still in shock. To his surprise, he felt her squirming from under him. "I k-know you love Karis. It was unfair of me to ever, ever try to put myself between you two, but she found out how much I cared and, and, I—"

"Shut up," Matthew said firmly, and Sveta gasped. He felt his eyes start to well, but said firmly, "That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard. After everything you've been through today, there's no way in hell you owe me any apology for letting me know and be with someone as kind as wonderful as you. I won't hear it."

Sveta's ears perked up slightly, and he felt his heart warm. "…But, I…"

"No buts," Matthew replied, lightly pushing the beastgirl's hair out of her face. "You… obviously know I care for Karis, but if anyone's being unfair here, it's me. I should have made it clear from the beginning that I'm not simply with you because I promised Himi she could be with Karis. I'm with you because I like you, and because I want to be there for you. Because… I love you."

As funny as he thought the words might sound, they rolled off this tongue effortlessly, and Sveta smiled brightly. "I want you to know that," Matthew continued. "So, don't be afraid to tell me how you really feel. I know… that I can't understand what you've gone through." He frowned. "But I want to be her for you whenever you need someone to talk to."

Sveta nodded, and gently laid her head down upon his chest. After two minutes of steady breathing and no speech, he thought she may have fallen asleep, when Sveta whispered, "You would have liked Volechek. You're a lot like him. Whenever I was sad about anything, I would cry to him, and no matter what he would cheer me up."

"…Sveta, I know he's out there, waiting for us to end the Eclipse," Matthew whispered, and she nodded.

"…Matthew? Do you think it's my fault?" Sveta whispered a moment later, gripping him tightly once more. "That I bring this pain to those around me? I just want to protect the people I love… and as stupid as this sounds, will you promise me not to die?"

"I don't think it's your fault," Matthew replied. "And… yes, I promise."

Her face beamed, so much so that her little pointed teeth were visible. The smile meant more than he knew she could put into words, but that didn't stop her from trying. "I'm glad."

* * *

><p><em>I originally had no idea how to write HimiKaris, but I feel like I've gotten somewhat of a rhythm with them going. I enjoyed writing a lot of their banter, and trying to come up with some kind of logical explanation as to why the party would end up with the Echo Game._

_Poor Rief. He gets really ragged on in this story at times. I actually had a kick writing Kraden in here (There's definitely going to be some Kraden/Obaba later on), because he was slightly ridiculous but still loveable and sagely. And I always love writing Eoleo. Always. I have no idea why I gave the Djinn an old-timey accent/style of speech, it just happened. I really love the phrase, "Oh Poppycock" and it went from there._

_Finally, the last part… one of the things I think that is understated about Dark Dawn is the emotional distress Sveta must go through each battle and in the more dangerous moment leading up to the Apollo Lens. Whether or not it is under the assumption of Spirit Shipping, it is clear that she is close to Matthew, and living in constant fear of him dying must be hard to deal with. Poor thing. Thankfully, we're getting to the point where she starts to feel a bit better :)_

_I had to edit the Matt/Sveta scene in here a few times to get it where I wanted it, but I felt like overall it was pretty good. Anyway. The next chapter will be Himi/Karis/Tyrell/Amiti, and then a double date between both Jupiter/Venus couples. It should be fun. So, I can barely keep my eyes open (legitimately), so I'm going to sleep. Night!_

_Edit: Oh, forgot to mention one thing. If anyone noticed the possible A Gentler Steam reference in here, that was intentional, and I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to play with it or not. It's certainly an interesting prospect._


	11. City of Marvels, Pt 3

_I've been unable to write some chapters, but never had it been this terrible! Whoo! Thankfully, I'm finally done with it, as short as it is and as unhappy as I am. More after._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: City of Marvels Part 3<strong>

"So, what was life like for you growing up?" Tyrell asked after he swallowed a large bite of his sandwich, while Amiti slowly ate his salad.

"Quiet," Amiti replied; they had been bouncing conversation off of each other for the past ten minutes, and it had been fairly pleasant. Amiti wasn't quite sure if he actually had any interest in men, but he had slightly questioned his sexuality after Karis and Sveta had become a couple. He hadn't even known same sex relationships existed up until that point, and he had never truly been interested in anyone regardless of sex while living in Ayuthay.

"It's… strange," Amiti continued, shaking his head. "I love my Uncle, but I always felt so detached from everyone else. I guess part of that was being royalty. I was so used to being treated with superiority that it felt natural. And while you were all very polite to me at first, and I said nothing of it, when I had to help pitch a tent… it wasn't what I was expecting."

"Haha, yeah, I remember the look on your face," Tyrell replied, having finished his sandwich. "No offense, but we thought you were pretty funny… in a cool way, I guess. Just how out of sync you were. For me it was nice, considering I apparently make a fool out of myself every time we go to a new place. That's what Karis says, anyway."

Amiti smiled; while others may dislike it, he found Tyrell's honesty somewhat refreshing. He had been taught different formalities and tactics as a child to prepare for politics, and much of it had dealt with lies and backstabbing. Seeing the opposite, he honestly preferred wearing your heart on your sleeve. "From my experience, you don't seem too keen on following her advice, though," Amiti replied, and Tyrell chuckled.

"She rags on me pretty hard. It's how it's always been, I've learned to take it." The Mars Adept leaned back and stretched his arms. "When we were ten I got to the point where she was being such an annoying ass I honestly thought I would stop talking to her, but then I realized, partially from Matthew, that it was just because she cared."

"That's sweet," Amiti responded, and Tyrell shrugged.

"I try to listen to what she says, but most the things she criticize me for is stuff I'm always going to do," The larger boy replied, standing up to get another glass of water. "So I block it out. I try to tell her I appreciate her concern, though. Karis doesn't show it, but she has some confidence issues. I worry about her."

"I would have never guessed," Amiti replied, slightly surprised. "She seems so sure of herself. I actually consider it one of her most alluring features. Ahem." He coughed as he realized what he had said, and Tyrell smiled.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Karis is fantastic," The miniature volcano replied, taking Amiti's hand and squeezing it. "But she does worry about how other people see her. I think a lot of that has to be with the fact that she likes girls. Don't, um, bring it up, but I was the first person she told."

"…Really?" Amiti asked, and Tyrell nodded solemnly.

"She was broken up about it. She's a perfectionist and… well, she thought she was 'off'. I set her straight though… er… bad wording, I told her she was fine however she was," Tyrell said, and Amiti cracked a smile at his frie- boyfriend's bad wordplay. "But… it's so stupid, because Karis is such a fantastic girl. I worry for her, I wish she didn't over-think things so much."

"She… definitely is fantastic," Amiti responded with a sigh. "As odd as talking about another girl with your male partner is, what is your favorite thing about her? As I said, I find her confidence to be appealing, but even as you tell me it's somewhat shaky, I find myself even more admiring; to put forth such an air despite personal uncertainty is a great feat." Little did they know directly outside the cabin was who they had been speaking of.

* * *

><p>"I don't. Like. Being. Wet," Himi said grouchily in response to Karis asking why she was so annoyed. "Being on the ship is bad enough… I'm always afraid I'm going to slip because of my sandals and fall overboard. There's a reason I've stayed in our room so much."<p>

"Huh. Here I thought you were anti-social, and you were really just sea-sick," Karis replied, sending Himi a sad look. "I wish I would have known, we could have found another way out of the tower rather than jumping in the water."

"No… it's fine. I need to learn to swim at some point, I guess," Himi replied with a shrug, and Karis smiled.

"That's the spirit! I can help you learn when we find a pond or lake… swimming's not that hard," Karis said in turn, and Himi shivered.

"It also takes forever for my hair to dry. And… I just don't like being wet," She concluded staunchly, crossing her arms, and Karis couldn't help but giggle.

"What!? You're adorable!" The Jupiter Adept retorted when Himi sent a disapproving glance her way.

"Welll… if you're there with me, swimming can't be too bad, I guess," She said quietly, as they reached the gangplank to the ship.

"Be careful… there was an accident here earlier, apparently the gangplank is wet," One of the dock workers said, gaining both Himi and Karis's attention.

"Oh… what happened?" Karis inquired, the worker rolling his eyes as he recalled the occurrence.

"This blue haired and red-headed guy knocked each other off somehow. Real nutcases," He replied, and both Himi and Karis flashed embarrassed looks. They both visualized Tyrell somehow dragging Amiti into the Mars Adept's shenanigans. "…You know them, then? I'm not surprised… no offense, haven't seen green hair in awhile," He continued, and Karis flushed as he hand went to her hair.

"Oh, it's very pretty miss, don't mistake me!" The worker replied hastily, bowing. "I just figured you must be travelling with them because you both had interesting hair colors, and were likely Adepts who knew each other. Forgive me if I was wrong."

"No… you were right. Anyway, thanks for the warning," Karis replied feebly, turning and moving toward the ship.

"…He didn't mean anything bad by it, Karis," Himi suggested, but her companion only shrugged.

"I know. Just wish I was blond like my Dad once in a while," The green-haired girl replied. "I like it, but it can be such a hassle… matching clothes with green? Pfff, forget about it! And at parties? So much staring! Matthew always liked it, though, and my Dad does too, so that's something." She ended on a cheery note, but Himi wasn't so sure she was as happy as she sounded.

"I like it, Karis," She replied, rubbing Karis's head, drawing a more natural smile out of the Jupiter Adept. She was beginning to reply with a "thank you" when she stepped into the galley, and in on Amiti and Tyrell, with the Mercury Adept facing them and the Mars Adept speaking. Amiti's eyes widened as he noticed the pair, and quickly made a gesture to Tyrell, but it was too late…

"I understand why you like her confidence, but I pretty much like everything about Karis," Tyrell began, and Karis found herself suddenly very alert and intrigued. "I mean, there's a reason I dated her. She's sweet, caring, and I think the best thing is that she's so smart. Makes up for the lack of leaves I have on my tree, so to speak. A lot of people see it as her talking down to me, but she's always trying to teach me cool things and what not. I'm just lucky to be her friend, Mars knows I've screwed up enough times to give her reason NOT to talk to me."

Finally noticing Amiti's waving, Tyrell turned to see Himi smiling brightly and Karis flushed a fluorescent red. "Oh, hey guys!" He said, acting completely normally. "How did your date go? We fell into the ocean… er, landed on ice thanks to Amiti, but you get the picture. The food's fine though."

"We did well, I guess," Karis replied, in a tone that held more reservation than Himi had ever heard the Jupiter Adept use before. "We'll explain later, when the entire party is here, but we think we have a lead on the Umbra Map. How about you?"

"We're dating!" Tyrell replied energetically. Himi's eyes widened, and Karis glanced between Tyrell's smiling face and Amiti's embarrassed but amused one. After a few moments of this, the Jupiter Adept burst out laughing, to such a degree that she had to lean on Himi for support.

"What's so funny? We can't have a gay relationship?" Tyrell huffed jokingly, and Karis shook her head.

"Well, I mean…" She began, trying to calm herself down. "Maybe, if Matthew was gay, Amiti and him, or maybe you and Matthew, but you two? It's just… well, I'm actually interested to see how it turns out. Have you guys kissed yet?"

"Yes. It was pleasant," Amiti replied with a shrug, and Karis nodded.

"I don't mean to sound so… it's just, not what I was expecting?" The Jupiter Adept said, and Amiti nodded.

"Well, to be honest I was trying to knock Tyrell out of the idea that he was gay…" The Mercury Adept said. "But, one thing lead to another…"

"And there aren't any free girls on this ship," Tyrell added. "So, yeah. Should be interesting."

"I have no doubt," Karis replied merrily, and then turned her head toward the hallway. "Well, we incidentally DID fall into some water, so we're going to go get changed and then head out for dinner."

"Sounds good. We'll hold down the fort until everyone gets back," Tyrell replied, and Karis nodded, before smiling extra brightly at Tyrell before walking toward her room. Himi followed, waving behind her as well, and Tyrell smirked as Amiti's face lit up.

"Got a thing for Himi too?" Tyrell asked pointedly, drawing a sigh out of Amiti.

"She's very cute, but, well, she's gay, so…" Amiti trailed off, spinning his hand in the air, and Tyrell nodded.

"Well, she's young. And hey, Karis still likes guys, at least Matthew, so it's never a certain thing," Tyrell replied, and Amiti shrugged. "Anyway, let's snuggle." Amiti didn't have much of a chance to respond before he was lifted into the air and carried into a nearby room. As Tyrell squeezed him tightly, but not overly so, Amiti began to serious wonder what on Weyard he had gotten himself into.

"I'm lucky I was smart enough to put the dress in the sealed part of my pack…" Karis muttered as she opened her travel-bad, pulling out the purple dress and admiring it. "This is so pretty… thank you, Himi." She pecked the young Miko on the cheek, drawing a blush.

"Oh, it's fine. We did get it for free after all," Himi replied, and Karis nodded. "Any chance you'd wear it tonight? I'm sure it would look pretty. At any rate, we should hurry: twilight is beginning to set." Sure enough, the light from the day was dwindling, the fading rays giving the ocean a shimmering coat. As bloody as its history was, Sana held an inherent beauty, and Karis was glad they had visited, however shortly. Even so, a lingering voice in the back of her head let her know that they would be back.

"Yeah, let me get dressed, and we'll head out," Karis whispered distantly, and Himi, with a blush, turned around. The Jupiter Adept smirked and rolled her eyes, and then quickly changed, after which the young couple left the ship and made their way toward the city once more.

* * *

><p>Matthew walked slowly across Tonfon's largest bridge, a sweeping, glorious construct from which much of the city was visible from below, alongside Sveta. While she was by no means happy, the beastgirl seemed to be at least now content with her presence in the city. Every minute or so she would turn to Matthew, and smile weakly but meaningfully. After their moment in the alley-way he had begun to realize that she saw him as a kind of security-blanket, which he was fine with. Anything to prevent her bursting into tears again.<p>

As they came to the apex of the bridge, Sveta abruptly stopped, glancing over to the railing at a young girl whose head hung low. Before Matthew could ask what was happening, Sveta approached the girl and asked, "Are you alright?" The girl, who had been lost in her thoughts by the look if it, jumped at Sveta's words, before sighing and shaking her head.

"S-Sorry, you startled me," She replied sadly, sniffling slightly. "I'm… alright. Just worried, I guess." Sveta smiled warmly in reply, and placed her paw on the girl's shoulder.

"About what?" She asked with concern, and immediately the girl's hesitation seemed to fade.

"Well…" She whispered softly. "My grandma lives in Kaocho, and usually we exchange letters and gifts with each other. It's been hard with the civil war, but we still managed to get by, until the Eclipse. I'm very worried now that… that she, you know…"

"Shhh… there, it's alright," Sveta replied, squeezing the young girl's shoulder. "Kaocho is strong, I'm sure its soldiers are doing everything to protect the people there." Matthew's mind was immediately filled with an image of a bunch of farmers holding weapons with no understanding of how to use them, but held his tongue.

And, suddenly, something else shot into his mind; the old woman they had met in Kaocho, who had asked them to deliver a package to her granddaughter in Tonfon. Reaching into his pouch (though unsure if he still had the present, as it had exchanged hands through their journey when someone carrying it needed to clear space in their pack), he smiled as his hand found it.

"Uh… pardon me, but is this your grandma's handwriting?" Matthew asked, holding out the present. The girl's eyes widened, and after a moment of scanning the note attached to the package, lit up.

"Oh! Yes, yes! This is from her!" The girl exclaimed wildly, hugging the box against her before beaming at it in happiness. A moment later, she turned her gaze towards Matthew. "Did… did you come all the way here to bring this to me?" She asked, and Matthew had to hold back a blush as she noticed the tears in the young girl's eyes, not to mention Sveta's look of pride at his actions.

"Oh… yeah, we met her a while back and promised to bring it to you," Matthew replied honestly, even if he had kind of forgotten about the package as a result of recent dire events. "I'm glad it means a lot to you."

"It… it really does," The girl sputtered, peaking into the contents of the gift and sighing with delight. "Ummm… you are adventurers, then?"

"Yes. We're travelling around Weyard to… provide aid where we can," Sveta explained, and the girl smiled once again.

"Well, I know it might be hard with… _that_," Her smile left her face as the young girl shot a look toward the darkness south of them and cringed. "But… once it ends, if you get the chance, could you find my grandma and give her this?" The girl held out a similar package, and Sveta bit her lip. Despite her wanting to help… travelling to Kaocho would be…

"Of course, as soon as we can," Matthew replied, grasping the present firmly and placing it in his pack. "I'm sure she'll be happy to receive it, and we'll be sure to hell her how happy her gift made you." He smiled as he finished, but once again blushed as the girl sniffled once more.

"That… that means the world to me. I'm glad that there are…" She trailed off as a blush hit her cheeks and her eyes fell to the ground. "That there are heroes like you two out there, helping people. Thank you so much."

"A-Anytime," Matthew replied with a small nod, and after pausing for a few seconds, nodded again before walking away.

"That was very sweet of you," Sveta said after a minute had past, nuzzling against his shoulder.

"I… I try to do what I think my Dad would do, in situations I guess," Matthew replied. "Besides, I wouldn't have even noticed her if it wasn't for you. It was very kind, how you treated her. I'm proud of you."

Sveta's brow furrowed as she contemplated his words. "I… I didn't really even see her as Sanan. She was just… a sad person, and I wanted to make her happy. Her sadness was so great, I could feel it, and I wanted to make it better."

"Because you're a wonderful person," Matthew added, and Sveta smiled.

"If you say so, Mr. Leader," She replied mockingly, and he sighed. Another sound followed, that of his stomach rumbling. "I concur with your belly. We should take advantage of our location, and find a place to dine," Sveta continued, and Matthew nodded. Ship food was… ship food, and he was looking forward to getting a nice, sit-down meal, especially since earlier in the day the likelihood of that happening had seemed low. Of course, he wasn't aware that he and Sveta were going to have company.

* * *

><p>"That was very nice of Tyrell..." Himi began not so subtly, and Karis sighed as the two walked down Tonfon's street as the sun slowly faded in the sky. The Jupiter Adept knew it wouldn't take the younger girl long to bring up Tyrell's comments.<p>

"It was... he really is a big sweetheart, as aggravating as he can be," Karis replied, shrugging, but sighed as Himi gave her a dissatisfied look. "Yeah, I know you wanted to talk about what he was talking about... it's fine."

"You have confidence issues," Himi stated, and Karis sighed.

"I... I'm not even eighteen yet, I'm sure I'll work it out," Karis replied, shaking her head. "Listen, we have more important things to work out, and other people on the ship have bigger problems than I do. Like Matthew with his — er, never mind, and Sveta with everything that's happened to her, and Amiti and Eoleo not knowing how their friends and family our doing."

"Are you worried about that at all?" Himi asked Karis, who sighed.

"I mean... yes, I'm not thrilled by home is under the Eclipse, but at least it's protected by my Dad and Matthew's Mom. It should be fine. And I wasn't done, by the way," Karis replied, then shifting the subject. "How about you, who is young, and travelling on a dangerous journey?"

"Pfff..." Himi muttered bitterly, and Karis smiled; had she struck a nerve? "I'm only a year younger than Rief, and much more mature. And even if I haven't spent much... any... time out of Yamata, I can handle myself."

"Fair enough," Karis agreed, glad to have changed the subject, and content with keeping it change. "How about here?" She pointed to a restaurant in front of them, and Himi pointed her nose out and sniffed, causing Karis to giggle profusely.

"It smells wonderful... and what are you laughing for?" Himi asked, raising an eyebrow as Karis shook her head and walked in without another word. However, they quickly came to a halt as a familiar voice rang out:

"Uh... live fish? Like... it squirms?" Matthew frowned as the waitress smiled uneasily, while Sveta's ears perked up.

"Live fish? Er... yes, I'll have that," The beastgirl replied, licking her lips.

"Um, pardon me, but the fish isn't so much alive as its extremities still move a small bit. Anything we serve is most certainly deceased," The Sanan waitress replied.

"Oh. Uh. I'll have rice?" Matthew said, Sveta giggling as the waitress sighed.

"Please, bring us out whatever is considered to be your finest platter," Sveta requested, and the waitress nodded, and left them.

"...Sveta, what if our fish isn't dead?" Matthew whispered in concern, slowing beginning to realize how meaningless his fretting seemed.

"Oh, we should try a different—" Himi began, but was silenced by Karis.

"We live on the same damn ship as them; we can make a double date work. Sitting apart would just be awkward, and as you said, the food smells really good," Karis muttered, sighing before moving towards Sveta and Matthew's table.

"Oh, Karis, Himi!" The beastgirl exclaimed as she caught sight of them. "I had wondered why you scent was so prominent here... are you here for dinner?"

Both of the girls nodded, with Karis specifically looking to Matthew, worried about his response. The Venus Adept forced a smiling poker-face no one in their right mind would have been fooled by, and Karis coughed. That was, before Matthew noticed the dress Karis was wearing.

"...Whoa, Karis, you look beautiful," He whispered, catching his mistake just as he finished speaking, Karis's face already beginning to flush. "Just like Sveta! And Himi!" He quickly added awkwardly, drawing worried looks from the other two girls.

"Erm, maybe another restaurant might be a good idea..." Karis whispered, clutching her side, wanting to avoid anything that awkward again.

"Nonsense!" Sveta exclaimed, rising from her seat at their table and moving next to Matthew. "It will be nice! Right Matthew?"

Matthew, unwilling to attempt another blatant lie, shrugged, and Sveta glared. "I mean... sure, it would be nice. What do you guys want?" Glancing around to make sure none of the restaurant's staff was nearby, and hoping to dispel some of the tension he had just created, he leaned in and whispered, "Watch out, some of the fish here moves while you're eating it."

Himi burst into giggles as Sveta narrowed her eyes and Karis rolled her own. The latter Jupiter Adept, having known Matthew for quite a long while, knew that her friend was often terribly awkward in public, and particularly awful in awkward social situations. There was a reason he had spent a lot of his life mostly silent.

"I'll probably just have rice," Karis said, settling to sit in front of Sveta. She turned and pulled out Himi's seat, only to notice the Yamatain frowning as she sat down.

"I'll have anything but rice..." Himi muttered.

"You don't like rice?" Matthew asked, and Himi shook her head.

"A few years ago, Yamata was running into issues with our trade, and at the same time our seas became devoid of fish. I ate rice and only rice for a year." The Venus Adept winced. "I'll have whatever fish they have, even if it moves."

"Oooh! We could split some!" Sveta said cheerfully, and Karis smiled.

"Feeling better? I knew Matthew would put you in a better mood," The Jupiter Adept said, and Sveta smiled.

"We had some... tense moments, but Matthew did indeed cheer me up. I'm glad I can feel comfortable in my own skin within Sana's borders, now," Sveta replied with a nod, and both Matthew and Himi smiled as well.

"So... how are you and Matthew doing, then?" Karis asked with an honest smile that Sveta returned, knowing how hard this might be for her fellow Jupiter Adept.

"Oh, we are doing well. He is quite the gentlemen, and so chivalrous!" Sveta replied with a giggle, drawing laughter out of both of them.

"Are they mocking me?" Matthew whispered to Himi.

"No, I'm fairly sure they're complimenting you, and... well, actually, I think they ARE mocking you," Himi replied, and Matthew sighed.

"Figures," He replied, readjusting his napkin before coughing awkwardly. Just because he was the reason that Himi and Karis were together didn't make it any more awkward that he was on a double date with them... especially with his feelings for Karis.

Pushing those feelings out of the way, Matthew asked, "Er, so, how are you and Karis? Good?"

Himi blushed, thinking back to their adventures earlier in the day, and nodded. "Great... a little... never mind."

Matthew raised an eyebrow before picturing Karis and Himi kissing. Which was... weird. "Glad I could get you two together," Matthew said, which was the truth since both girls seemed to be happy. As long as no one ever asked him to be matchmaker again, regardless of Venus being his element. Love was not his forte.

"I am as well," Himi replied with a smile, and Karis, catching it out of the corner of her eye, smiled. Maybe this wasn't going to be the disaster she had partially imagined. They were all responsible young adults, if a little indecisive (as evident by the shifting relationships in the party). They could conquer a double date filled with loose feelings.

"Oh... you didn't tell me you were a party of four," The waitress lamented, having returned with two glasses of water. "Shall I bring out two more glasses of water? And what will you two ladies be having?"

"Rice and two vegetable rolls," Karis said, and Himi bit her lip.

"I'll just have a salad I guess," The Yamatain replied, and the waitress nodded.

"So, how did things go with you two today? We managed to get a lead on the Umbra Map," Himi said, and Sveta and Matthew shared a conflicted look.

"Well, it didn't start out great..." Matthew began, and Sveta's face fell. "But, I think we're doing better, and I'm glad we're heading out of Tonfon. It's good that you found some leads, because we, uh, didn't at all."

Sveta's expression lifted and she giggled, "No, we certainly didn't. I am... ready to leave Tonfon." The rest of the table nodded, and exchanged pleasant conversation until the meal came.

All four of the Adepts became silent as their hungry stomachs overtook their desire for conversation, and little speech occurred until Himi gentle placed down her fork, extremely content. The other three Adepts were similarly happy, with Matthew very pleased that none of his food had moved unless he had been the one moving it.

They paid, and shortly left, all four happy that the evening had been pleasant considering how it could have gone. Sveta expressed that sentiment as they made their way down the brightly lit street.

"Tonight was nice. Good food, great friends." She smiled and grasped Matthew's hand, Karis doing her best to smile as she watched.

"I think Himi and I will spend a little more time in the city... we wanted to do some star-gazing," Karis lied, wanting to stargaze for her own purposes.

"Alright... I think we'll head back to the ship, I'm bushed," Matthew stated, looking toward Sveta for confirmation, who nodded. "Don't stay out too late."

Karis laughed at that, and shook her head. "Matt, we'll be fine, don't worry." For a moment, silence enveloped the group, and the hesitation seemed palpable. What was the proper means of departure in this situation? Was a wave fine, or would a hug be... too much?

Sveta, seeing the awkward moment, quickly reached out and hugged Himi, pushing Karis to sigh and hug Matthew as well. "Love you, Karis," he whispered into her ear, and she smiled.

"Love you too Matt, I'm glad you're happy," She replied, parting as she finished and embracing Sveta. "Thanks for keeping this from being a total disaster," She whispered, and Sveta nodded.

"Well, we're definitely going to be spending time with each other, so... it's good we got this out of the way," The beastgirl replied, and they parted as Himi and Matthew did.

After a few more pleasantries, the two couples separated, each one of them lost in thought. Matthew and Sveta made it to the ship quickly, and both exhausted, kissed goodnight and found their bedrooms.

Himi was similarly exhausted, and fell asleep minutes into her and Karis's star gazing, though the Jupiter Adept didn't mind. She watched the constellations for an hour, thinking questions to them every few seconds and wondering what the next few weeks would bring, knowing they now had a chance to find the Umbra Map.

Of course, that was far from the most prevalent thought on her mind, but rather than lingering on the thought of Matthew and Sveta, she was thankful that her oldest friend and one of her closest were happy and together.

Karis smiled as she turned and looked at Himi, breathing peacefully as she slept. She was the last person Karis had expected to meet, let alone date, but she had to admit; she was definitely more than just a third eye. And so, she didn't wake the young miko up, instead carrying her back to the ship, only having to rest a few times, and placed the Venus Adept in her bed (fully clothed), before slipping into her own and shutting her eyes, the lights of Tonfon barely visible from the window of their room.

* * *

><p><em>The inherent issues with me writing this chapter were my inability to accept that this fic had turned into a teenage soap opera (still struggling with it), and then my lamentation at how I handled AmitiTyrell and whether or not I wanted to edit that out. Obvious, the latter didn't happen, and the chapter is now posted._

_I'm an idiot in that I let all of that crap delay the story when in the end I'd be better going to the flow to a greater degree, and not worrying so much._

_Moving on, at first I really hated this chapter, but as I've gone on I've determined I don't mind it. As the last section proves, I'm absolutely a sucker for forcefully placing the name of the story within the story. How many people winced? I did. _

_I was glad to get past Sveta's sadness too, and getting to write awkwardness bubbling under the surface was fun. If I lack anything in writing (and I lack a lot), it's tact. Absolutely none. _

_Well, having spent way too much time in Tonfon, the next chapter will flash-forward a week or two. Hint hint, it's going to take place in somewhere very cold with a familiar face. Another hint: it always pissed me off that you never got to visit Imil in Dark Dawn. And, I think that's the part where I say this story is officially non-canon._

_I actually had to make a new word document, the old one was starting to lag whenever I opened it/had it open, lol. _

_I'm off for vacation for week, at which point hopefully I'll get some writing (AGS, SWWF and LoV were all victims of the delay of this chapter, and I need to catch up with them) done, and after I come back I need to do a ton or reviewing (might start some tonight). I'm sorry for the long wait, but glad to finally update. Huh, rhymed. Anyway, thanks for reading!_


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